Angel Wings
by babesrus2
Summary: Stephanie's life is never boring. Unfortunately, it is not without danger and drama too. Babe. HEA
1. Chapter 1

**Janet Evanovich deserves all the credit for creating such wonderful characters to play with. She has, at the same time, made them so that we can give them our own version of personality and life. **

**We make no money from this but our payment is personal enjoyment from writing.**

Chapter 1

Stephanie stood back looking down. She watched as the EMT's were frantically performing their job. One held the defibrillator in his hands and called 'clear'. He pressed the paddles to the body and pressed the button. He looked at the screen and proceeded to repeat the movement.

There was blood everywhere on the ground. It looked like there had been a wound to the chest.

Gauze pads soaked in blood were tossed aside. A gurney stood by ready to transport.

Stephanie looked around.

There was a ring of people watching in horror as the men worked feverishly. Their movements were getting more and more frenzied as if time was slipping away.

She could see scuffling going on. Looking closer she saw a sea of black trying to contain someone. They was not going down without a fight. She could see Bobby standing by with a syringe in his hands. He saw an opening and advanced, then stepped back. The struggling diminished and then ceased. She could see Tank holding someone in his arms. She thought she could see tears falling down his cheeks as he held someone tight to his chest. Gradually the struggling ceased.

She noticed the absolute quiet that enveloped the area. She heard a soft prayer here and there. She heard a few sniffles escape.

Traffic noises and everyday activities in Trenton, New Jersey faded away.

She wrapped her arms around her for comfort. She was starting to feel cold and fear began to cloud her mind. Her vision was getting fuzzy.

Stephanie viewed one of the EMT's move slightly and she looked at the face of the victim.

She was looking at herself.

~~~o0o~~~

Maybe I should back up.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie stepped out the door of her apartment block. It was looking like a sunny day in Trenton. At least that was what the weather forecast was predicting. The smog had already settled over the city and try as it might, the sun would have a tough time coming through clearly.

She looked at her car de jour. It was a subdued forest green Toyota Camry, slightly scuffed on a few body panels and sporting a different hub cap on each wheel. Mooner had come through once again in her hour of need.

Stephanie shrugged. She had a long list of autos that had belonged to her for everything from a couple of days to a couple of months. She felt lucky that most of the time the license plate survived whatever mishap happened to the car so she did not have to learn a new plate number each time.

Her insurance broker had her file under favorites. It made life so much easier if they did not have to hunt for it every time she came in. They knew her by her first name.

Lately her luck had been deserting her and by the time she had made her way to the counter, her file was already open and waiting.

Stephanie sighed.

Her rent was due in two days and she needed some more FTA's to cover the withdrawal. Connie had earmarked a few files for her but she was needing at least one more to take it over the top.

Stephanie slipped into the car and turned the key hoping it would fire. Wonder upon wonder, it did on the first try. Actually it started the easiest of her last four cars. Could it be that her car karma was improving? Could she hold this one together for awhile?

Stephanie pulled up to the bond office and parked in the space directly outside the door. That in itself might have indicated how her day was about to go. Score! Parking karma, finally.

Grabbing her bag in one hand, and keys in the other she slipped out from behind the fuzzy steering wheel. Mooner thought she needed some cool so he had thrown in a steering wheel cover with SpongeBob SquarePants displayed in bright yellow colors.

She walked into the office taking in the fact that Lula was not there. Well, it was early for her and certainly too early for Lula.

Stephanie's stomach had wakened her up and with nothing in the apartment except for a few hamster nuggets and one almond filched from the duty sergeant's desk yesterday for Rex, she showered and dressed hoping to find a donut at the office.

Connie was on the phone and she was writing something in her day timer.

"I'll be down soon, Henry. Make sure that your brother is standing by this time, or I'll send Vinnie to talk to him."

Connie hung up and smiled as she saw Stephanie standing there.

"Morning, sunshine. What brings you out so early? Birds wake you, alley cat knock over a garbage can, a certain man in black couldn't sleep?"

Stephanie glanced around. No donuts in sight. Darn.

Connie pulled open a desk drawer. She pulled out a box of chocolate chip granola bars and put them on the desk.

"Vinnie took this in payment last night. I have a whole case of them in the back. Not sure what I'm supposed to do with them and you can help me decide. Try a couple or better yet, take the box. See what you think. Sorta like an extended taste test."

Connie watched as Stephanie's eyes locked on the box. She knew the state of her finances by her facial features and mannerisms at the end of each month. Connie knew the signs. Unfortunately, the bonds in Stephanie's range were few and far between right now.

She looked longingly at Rangeman's pile. Only a fool would even contemplate the people wanted in that pile.

Connie excused herself and headed to the washroom.

Stephanie sidled over to the pile and her hand reached out tentatively, then shot back to her side. The front door was opening.

She knew by the tingle at the back of her neck who would be passing through shortly. A hand pushed her hair aside and Ranger placed a soft kiss behind her ear.

"Morning, Babe."

She nodded but it felt like her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth. More like she was trying to control her heart and a word spoken now would probably have come out as a squeak.

Connie came out of the bathroom and nodded at the pile.

Tank picked up the pile and raised an eyebrow at Ranger. He nodded then jerked his head toward Vinnie's closed office.

"He in?"

Connie cleared her throat.

"Yeah, but knock loudly before you step in." The warning was not taken lightly. Vinnie might need a moment to collect himself.

Ranger grimaced then strode to the door. He pounded twice on the door and waited.

The door opened and Vinnie looked out then nodded. Ranger was about to step in when he looked back at Stephanie.

"I need to see you after I talk to Vinnie. Please wait for me Babe."

Everybody knew that when Ranger used the P word that Stephanie would cave.

She sat down on the little red chair that she had come to believe as her own. Connie was at her desk filing one nail that really did not need the attention.

Stephanie sighed. She was cutting it really close for rent this month. She hated to ask Ranger if he needed help. He would instantly agree that there was work for her at Rangeman, but she felt she was taking advantage. She really liked to be independent and asking for help did not sit well.

She opened the wrapper on a granola bar and took a bite. Not bad; better than a pop tart, not as good as pancakes and syrup, hmmmm. Her mind was focussing on foods she loved and didn't hear the door open.

Ranger strolled out. She visibly shook himself and shuddered.

Striding to Stephanie's side he placed his hand under her elbow and assisted her to her feet as if she was unable to scramble up without assistance. She quickly took two more bites and grudgingly put the now empty wrapper in the wastebasket by the door.

Stephanie was guided out the door and around to the alley. Ranger leaned her against the brick wall, and putting his hands on both sides by her shoulders managed to lock her in. He pressed his lips to hers and her body responded instantly to his delectably muscular body. She melted into the kiss and her thoughts scrambled. What she would give to have that body in bed with her!

"Good to know, Babe, but no time right now. I reserve the right to take a rain check on that." Ranger was smiling that cat-that-ate-the canary look. Damn, did she say that out loud?

"Yeah Babe, you did." Ranger spoke, still smiling.

Stephanie's bed had been empty for two months.

Joe had screwed up again and the screaming match they had, had the Burg talking for days. Grandma Bella had given her 'the eye' but so far Stephanie had deflected everything from warts to serial killers. Her mother had ironed everything in the house and was contemplating helping her neighbors on both sides but had finally calmed down. Her father had shrugged his shoulders and had hidden behind his paper. Grandma Mazur had clapped Stephanie on her back and congratulated her on finally seeing the light.

Joe was currently chasing a lab tech. The way Stephanie was feeling, she hoped that this Abigail person would be practising on him with needles and implements of medical torture.

He had been off on an undercover assignment. Bob had been staying at Steph's house and she was somewhat successful in keeping him from eating her out of house and underwear. She found the secret to stopping his disgusting habit quite by chance.

She had come home to him wandering around the apartment with what was left of her current favorite thong around his neck. She had been so angry that the child's toy she had in her hand for baby Lisa got squeezed in her anger. It had both roared and the lights of its eyes shone. Bob had taken off into the kitchen and lay cowering under the table.

Lisa never received that toy. When Bob did something stupid, or wrong, the tiny tiger roared at him. He had never learned a trick so fast in all his life. Her underwear stayed intact after that, and her furniture didn't sport any more holes.

If Stephanie left for the day, she placed the tiger prominently on the coffee table and miraculously everything was still in it's place when she came home.

Lisa never missed the toy and received a Raggedy Ann doll instead.

Stephanie had received a phone call from Joe late at night. She had been asleep and groggily her arm had inched its way out from under the covers as it rang by her ear. She had mumbled a 'hello' and while trying to shake the cobwebs from her mind and speech, she could hear giggling in the background.

Nothing can wake up someone faster than a quiet, 'shush' coming over the phone lines and Stephanie was no different. She could hear rustling in the background as Joe talked, telling her how much he loved and missed her. He had said that the case was wrapping up and while he had his head buried in work day and night he had been thinking how soon he would be returning to her and her arms.

Stephanie had hung up after Joe had professed his love a few more times and sat up in bed digesting the phone call. Obviously he had not been as lonely as he professed.

By the time he arrived at the apartment a few days later, Stephanie had cleaned every vestige of Joe from her tiny apartment, and the plastic bags on the dining room table showed the efforts of her work.

Joe had shown up expecting a night of passion and instead was dodging his possessions aimed at his head. He had grudgingly taken Bob on his leash and his possessions and scurried away.

She had not seen him except at the police station and one look at her eyes and he had headed the other direction.

She knew that money had changed hands once again.

He had waited for two weeks then attempted to stop her as she was at Giovanni's picking up her mother's order. Once again she had unloaded on him in front of all the ladies patiently waiting then marched out. She heard later that Joe had run a gauntlet of handbag laden ladies all the way to the door trying to protect his head from further injury.

Unfortunately, he had not taken into account that a few ladies from the Cut N Curl were in the store and besides being the topic of the day, he had been wounded by a gun laden purse to the jewels. It was only his masculine pride that kept him from writhing on the ground vomiting.

Ranger had been away checking on the other branches and Stephanie was being loosely followed by a Merry Man. She had phoned Tank and when she questioned why, since she believed she currently had no stalkers or serial killers after her, he had only stated that The Boss had ordered she be kept safe. In his mind, that meant either locking her down, or a tail. His calmly voiced explanation rarely booked an alternative and she had given up. Tank was not a gray kind of guy.

She was glad he was back. She vowed to speak to him as soon as her mind cleared and her tongue could form words again. Ranger was like that. He could take a perfectly planned idea and with one of his mind-scrambling kisses, make any well thought out plan fly out the window.

Soon, but way too soon, Ranger leaned back a few inches and looked into her eyes.

"I was wondering if you could do some searches for me, Babe. The guys are really short-staffed and we are getting behind. Ram and Cal are on assignment and Woody isn't back yet from Texas. Les did something stupid and is on bed rest.

I took the liberty of phoning Ryan and he is processing a couple of days of work through for you on this pay period."

She pushed on his chest so that she could see his eyes better. He gave nothing away that he might know the sad state of her finances.

"I have some FTA's that need rounding up, Ranger, and their return date is getting close. I might be able to squeeze in some time, but you shouldn't have assumed I would automatically come in. I will help you but I'm going to keep track of my time spent until I make it up to you."

Ranger grimaced. He had not handled that as well as he could have. Now she was feeling like it was a pity payment. He could see that her independent streak was starting to rear it's ugly head and he prepared for a well deserved tongue lashing.

He wondered how long it would take her to figure out that Tank had taken her car and filled it with gasoline.

Unfortunately for her, he was always cognizant of her financial state. Near the end of a month he routinely checked her balance. He did not think of it as prying. He was wired that way. He needed and wanted information and had the resources and means to find out. He tried to assume nothing and he had always prided himself on trying to solve a problem before it became a problem.

Stephanie pushed him farther back and stood up, straightening out her clothes.

"I'll be in in a couple of hours. I have to pick up Freddie Prince and Mooner needs to re-book again."

She pushed past him and headed for the bonds office, opening and closing the door solidly enough he knew that she was pissed.

Ranger sighed. He was very well respected in the mercenary world. Unfortunately in the world of Stephanie, he put his foot in his mouth more times than he cared to admit. He had riled her feathers.

He thought about it. Ella was her weakness and if he could placate her with a meal later on seven, he might get back on her good side.

He stopped short of heading to her apartment to check out her food supplies. He could see on her banking information that she had not shopped for a couple of weeks and chances were that her cupboards were bare. He cringed as his first thought was to have Ella shop for her and stock up. She would never ever forgive him for that.

Ranger walked out of the alley and noticed that Stephanie's car was back in place. He assumed that beside gas the new tracker was now in place. Unfortunately she had been running around the last week untracked as bad luck had interferred with the op. Every time one of his men had attempted to place it, there had been someone near who could watch the proceedings and better yet, tell somebody.

Ranger slipped into the passenger seat of the Hummer and they drove away.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm sending you a rare for me Saturday chapter. Thanks for your support and reviews. And now...**

Chapter 2

Stephanie pulled into the Rangeman garage and parked in one of the open spaces reserved for Ranger. She climbed stiffly out of the car and made her way to the elevator. Pressing the button for four she leaned against the wall.

Freddie Prince had been a handful. He had taken umbridge to her driving up and disturbing his poker game with his pals. He had politely asked her to return later as he was in the middle of a real win streak and felt the need and the financial desire to take his friend's money.

Stephanie had also been polite but firm. If he came along quietly she would call Connie and they would be met at the police station and she could bond him out quickly. Stephanie had even offered to drive him back to his house and he could continue with the game, but he was not feeling the love.

He had taken a wild swing at her and although she ducked, he had then taken the hall table and crashed it over her back. She had come up swinging, and without a moment's hesitation had sprayed him in the face with her trusty hair spray, then stunned him for good measure.

His buddies had rushed to the hallway to defend his honor and she had been forced to pull her gun and then call for back-up. Vince and Manny had been in the area and quickly responded to her call.

One look at the two imposing dudes in front of them and the poker players had decided that it was in their best interest to head back and play a game or two while waiting for their friend to sort out his troubles on his own. Besides that, the pizza had just arrived and it always tasted better warm.

Stephanie had cuffed and the guys stuffed Freddie in the back of her car and followed closely by the Merry Men in their vehicle had made the trip to the lock-up in record time. She was pissed enough at him that she had not phoned Connie or Vinnie to come and he was forced to wait while they took their time coming to re-bond him out.

Checking that she was OK, the men left.

Stephanie knew that they would be making a report, and wanting to delay the fact that Ranger would insist that Bobby check her over, she took her time and then headed over to Mooner's place. He was in the middle of a Full House marathon and she sat down to watch for awhile. Mooner had microwaved some kind of a bean dip and they snacked until the end and she carted him off to the station and then back home again.

By now, she was feeling the effects of the table attack and predicted that there was going to be a serious bruise growing on or near her spine.

She winced as she settled in her car and regretted saying that she would be over to Rangeman later. All she wanted to do was to go home, take a long hot shower, then maybe a soothing bubble bath and after that climb into her bed. She might even take the covers and covering her head, wish the day to end. She was already tired of this one.

There was a text on her phone and knowing who it was from, sighed. She had an appointment with Bobby the minute she arrived and he was waiting. She could not put it off too much longer without a hunt and capture visit from the Merry Men so headed to Haywood.

As she suspected, he was waiting as the elevator door opened on four and taking her gently by the hand, escorted her to his examining room, all the while unobtrusively checking her over. He helped her to lay face down on the examining table, then carefully rolled up the back of her shirt until he could see where the injury was.

Bobby was the ultimate professional and kept his exclamation to himself as he gently poked and prodded.

"Ok, Steph, I'm pretty sure your spine is bruised and I would really feel a lot better if we could get an x-ray of this, but I can see that you already have your fingers gripping my examining table and short of stunning you or giving you a quick acting sedative, I suspect that you would fight me for a trip to the hospital."

Stephanie nodded her head in agreement. She didn't need Bobby to know that it was already starting to throb even more and she knew she would be having trouble sleeping on her back tonight. At the same time, she had walked in, so it must not be too bad, right?

He headed to the supply room and returned with an insta freeze which he cracked to activate it then laid it gently on the affected area. Stephanie hissed at the cold pack as it touched her back.

Bobby left it on the area for about 20 minutes then gently removed it. He poked and prodded again and nodded.

Helping Stephanie to sit up, he handed her a lollipop. He had begun to stock them in one of his many cupboards. Other than the fact that they tasted good, they had a pain reliever in them.

His sister had told him about them a few months ago when her children had been battling a high fever from some childhood malady. She had said that her kids hated to take medicine and it was an approved way to get some pain relief into them without too much of a fight.

Bobby had immediately thought of Stephanie. She too hated to take pain medication thinking that it made her look weak in front of the guys. He had taken her love of sweets and her hatred of pain relief and had come up with a foolproof way to help her without the usual fight.

Stephanie thanked him and headed for five. Her cubicle was calling her and if she could get in some work, her commitment would be over sooner and she could relax. She hated the fact that she was once again beholden to Ranger.

Coming onto the floor, she was greeted by the men, giving them kisses on the cheeks. She missed Cal. It almost seemed that without rubbing his tat for luck, she was tempting fate that something bad was about to happen.

As usual, her in-box was stuffed full. Someday she was going to find that Rodriguez guy and have it out with him.

Quickly she got to work, searching and printing, then searching again. Time passed and her in-box was getting empty and her completed files growing.

Suddenly the floor became quieter and Stephanie knew that Ranger had come on the floor. Well, the fact that it got quieter and her neck tingled probably confirmed it.

Ranger came over to her desk and leaned against it. He looked at her as she pretended to work, her ear-buds firmly placed in her ears. He knew she knew he was there. She was trying to ignore him. Yup, she was still pissed he had assumed and that he had paid her upfront. He was not looking forward to the conversation about the fuel. He realized that he had really over-stepped his bounds on that one.

Lucky for him, he had already talked to Ella. Hopefully Stephanie would accept his offer of supper and Ella was making double chocolate brownies as a peace offering.

He had hoped that she might take him up on the offer of staying overnight, but Bobby had just given him the medical report and he knew that the most he could hope for was his oversized bathtub and a lot of bubbles in her bath. Oh well, he was a patient man and had waited this long for his babe, so one more night, well, he could manage that.

Ranger tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped. He caught the files as they began to slide off the desk.

She looked at him and began to speak. "I know, I know, I have to be aware of my surroundings."

Ranger smiled. She was pretending that she did not know he was there, but he had noticed one hand almost lifting to rub her neck before it stopped and slid back on the keyboard.

She looked up at him.

He stood up with the files in his hand.

"Would you like to have supper with me on seven tonight, Babe? Ella told me she was trying out a new recipe and wanted your input. I suspect it has chocolate in it."

Stephanie's eyes almost crossed. Aaahhh, chocolate. Ranger and chocolate. Ranger undressed with chocolate. Ranger with chocolate smeared on his...

She shook her head to clear the thought.

Ranger spoke again. "That is, unless you don't have something else going on, Babe."

Stephanie waited a minute to calm her hormones.

"I don't have anything important tonight, Ranger. And, if Ella is testing something new, it always tastes better just having been made."

Ranger laughed. "I'll pick you up at 1800, Babe."

Stephanie nodded. Working in the military atmosphere she was finally thinking with the 24 hundred clock now. She had surprised her Dad a few days ago spouting military time. He had smiled. He was quite comfortable using it both in the cab industry and while he had been in the army.

Eighteen hundred hours arrived and Ranger was standing by her cubicle once again. She was just completing the last of the searches and heaved a sigh of relief. She looked at her in-box, wondering if she should hide it. Thinking about it, she dismissed the thought. If she wasn't doing searches she might be picked to man a monitoring station. Now THAT was a mind and butt numbing detail and when push came to shove, at least she could move around when doing searches. Not to mention that she could go to the break room for a snack now and then.

Ranger had threatened horrible things to his employees if he found so much as a crumb or a drop of something liquid near the monitoring stations. They had to stay active and functioning and he would be damned pissed off if he had to call Hector to come up to fix something that had fried. Mat time would be a given and the employee fined.

Stephanie stood up with the folders and distributed them to the appropriate boxes for retrieval. Ranger watched as she gathered up her purse and jacket. He noted that she was starting to stiffen up and watched as she softly hissed with a muscle spasm.

Taking the lead he pushed the button summoning the elevator. Alone and he would have taken the stairs but he was dealing with Stephanie here and she was adamant on a good day that there was a perfectly good elevator waiting to be used.

She had explained to him on more than one occasion that an elevator was like the battery on a car. Not using it and it might refuse to start one day. Ranger had shaken his head at her reasoning.

The elevator door opened and they walked in. Ranger pressed his key fob taking them to the seventh floor. The elevator door opened and they walked to the apartment door. Once again, he used his fob and it unlocked. He pressed down on the handle on the door and placing his other hand gently on the small of her back prepared to gently guide her as she moved.

Stephanie flinched as his hand brushed the bruise. Ranger immediately took his hand away and spoke.

"Sorry, Babe. Bobby said you had a bruise but didn't say where. Do you need another ice pack? A soak in the tub before supper, maybe a closer inspection to make sure you are not getting worse? I have a pretty good grasp of primary first aid. How about a relaxing shower. Remember, I am good in the shower."

He deftly dodged the purse she was swinging his way, but the smile on her face took away any heat from the remarks. Oh, yeah, she knew exactly how good he was in the shower, in a bathtub full of bubbles, or in a bed.

She could already smell the delicious smells coming from the kitchen and dropping her purse and jacket on the hall table, headed that way. Ranger smiled and followed. Together they took out the plates and cutlery and pulled bottles of water from the fridge.

Ranger dished up the delicious meal. As usual, there was grilled white meat with lots of vegetables, a salad and then, off to the side, a cake tray with a dome over the top.

Stephanie's hand itched to lift the lid, but one look from Ranger and she kept her hand by her side. He had a rule about no dessert until after the main meal. Stephanie had always thought it was sad. In what book was there a rule about dessert being last?

Supper, as usual was delicious and full of flavor. Ella had prepared it with enough spices that salt was never necessary.

Finally the moment arrived. Her plate was clean and she looked at the dome with eyes that refused to blink in case it disappeared.

Ranger put his hand on the cake dome lid and then paused.

"I would give money to have you look at me that way, Babe."

He was smiling as he spoke.

Stephanie gulped. Her cheeks felt red and she was trying not to hyperventilate at the thought. A Ranger-shaped cake dome. Yum.

She looked up at him and smiled shakily.

Ranger laughed and lifted the dome.

There were two pieces of heaven just sitting there waiting to be worshipped. Ranger put a brownie on a small plate and grabbing a fork, placed it in front of her.

He sat back and waited for the show and he was not disappointed.

Stephanie took the fork and make a small corner cut into the brownie. Ella had drizzled chocolate sauce over the top and it had dripped down all four sides. She lifted the fork to her lips and her mouth gently closed over the tiny piece.

Ranger prepared himself.

Stephanie let out a moan that evoked instant tightening in his cargoes. Her eyes were closed and he could see every emotion as she swallowed. He placed his hands on the counter and counted to ten as he tried to rein in his emotions.

Just as he felt he had succeeded, she took another bite and once again, her moan escaped.

He swore under his breath. Darn that Ella. Dios, he might need to stand up soon to relieve the pressure.

Ranger endured her eating the brownie and looked at its companion still sitting on the cake plate. He took the lid and placed it over the top. He was a strong man, but there was only so much he could take. He firmly believed that if Stephanie ate that second brownie he would grab her, throw her over one shoulder and run to the bedroom, beating his chest all the way.

Stephanie looked longingly at the now covered plate and a sigh escaped. She vowed to tell Ella later how good that was. Better than her mothers, better than any bakery, better than any cake chef on tv she had ever watched.

Eventually, but maybe only a few seconds after realizing that it was going to be a one-brownie meal, Stephanie lifted her eyes from the covered treat, and she looked at Ranger.

"I'm still mad at you for assuming that I would come in to help you. And, while we are on the subject, I want the bill for the gas you put in my car. And also while we are at it, I assume you put a tracker on my car too. Ranger..."

Ranger leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss.

"No price, remember, Babe."

She sputtered and fell silent. She realized that she was fighting a losing battle. She would neither see the bill for the gasoline, or ever find the tracker on her car. She had taken a quick look over at Mooner's place. As for the early payment, well, she would make a chart and post it on her cubicle wall in big letters, carefully keeping track of her hours.

Ranger could see that she was tiring. He would prefer that she stay with him but she was not a prisoner and he wanted her to stay because she wanted to. He waited for her to speak.

"Ranger, I think I really need to go home. I'm not feeling like the best of company this evening and besides I did not expect to stay this long. I forgot to feed Rex."

Ranger nodded. She had obviously made her decision and while he was unhappy, he could see it in her eyes. She wanted to go home and take some pain relief out of sight of prying eyes and try to get some sleep.

He helped her with her coat and walked her down to her car. He opened her door and watched as she gingerly sat down. All his instincts screamed that she should not be alone tonight. He decided that he would be making a late night appearance at her apartment later. He hoped that she would not turn him away.

Ranger watched her leave the garage then he checked his watch. He would give her a couple of hours to get home, take a bath and crawl into bed. He set his watch then headed to five. He could do some more paperwork until then.


	3. Chapter 3

**I try to remember to add that Janet Evanovich owns these characters, but sometimes I have a blond moment and forget.**

Chapter 3

Ranger let himself into her apartment. It was later than he planned, but there had been an alarm at a client's business. By the time the would-be intruders had been carted off to jail, and the reports filed, it was very late.

Ranger toed off his boots at the front door and tiptoed to her bedroom door. He could hear Rex doing his wind sprints in the kitchen. He turned the handle and slowly opened the door. Unfortunately he had not been there for some time and the door squeaked as it opened.

Stephanie shot up in bed and her gun was in her hand. Ranger stopped and raised his hands in the air.

"Just me, Babe. I was out on a call and stopped in to see how you were doing."

She relaxed and put her gun back on the nightstand. The sudden movement had wrenched her back and her face was twisted in a grimace.

Ranger moved to the side of the bed. He could see the pain etched in her face. He carefully sat on the side of the bed.

"Can I get you something, Babe?"

Stephanie nodded. "There's some Aleve on the bathroom counter, thanks Ranger."

Ranger stood up and brought her one tablet and some water. He was unsure when she had last taken some and having checked the bottle noted that she could take some every eight hours. He dropped a gel in her hand and a bottle of water, watching as she downed the pill.

Stephanie could see how tired Ranger was. Burning the candle at both ends got tiring after awhile and she was noticing a few new wrinkles here and there around his eyes.

She patted the bed beside her.

"You look tired, Batman. Take a few minutes and rest. I promise not to ravage your body without permission." She smiled as she waited for his reaction.

Ranger laughed and taking off his web belt, sat down heavily on the side of the bed, then lay down gently pulling Stephanie to him. She sidled over and snuggled in his embrace.

They woke up to Stephanie's phone ringing. She groggily swiped her hand in the general direction of the nightstand and grabbed it, flipping it open. Her eyes opened as she listened.

Ranger was also awake and watching her facial expression. He got up and quickly headed to the bathroom with his phone in his hand.

Stephanie listened then put the phone down. Her hand was shaking and her face had an ashen look.

Ranger came back into the room and sat down on the bed beside her. He was rubbing her arms trying to warm her and dispel the fear in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and sat her in his lap.

He had never been with her when disturbing phone calls had come in. By the time Rangeman had found out about it, Stephanie had already calmed down and her mental armor was in place. Ranger had a front row seat and saw first hand the emotion and the toll it took on her.

Stephanie took a shuddering breath. She looked at Ranger with some fear still showing in her eyes. He could see her defenses rallying and once again was impressed at how she handled stress.

"What did they say, Babe?" Ranger wanted to hear while it was still fresh in her memory.

Stephanie flipped her hand like she was brushing it aside.

"Take your pick, Ranger. They are jealous that you are in my bed, and they think that the world would be a better place without me in it."

Ranger nodded. He already had a team heading to where the call had been placed. It had been a pay phone at a corner near Stark Street. He wondered once again if she was being targeted by the Slayers gang. Well, the remnants of Slayers anyway. After her brush with them at the playground, the remaining members were mostly in jail, or had moved away.

His phone rang. Holding her still against his chest he answered. Ranger listened as the report was given then hung up. His arms encircled her once again. It was quite obvious that there would be no sleep for either of them for a while.

Stephanie nestled in his embrace. It was good to have him home. She missed his strength, his calmness and his demeanor. She loved him with all her heart but also cognizant of his aversion to any kind of a relationship. Unfortunately, she wanted a relationship. She had never nor never would want to be a one night stand kind of person. What a mess.

Ranger spoke into her hair. "That was Hal. He dusted the pay phone where the call came from, but the person either used gloves or wiped the phone after hanging up. This late, there were no witnesses, but we will check if there were any cameras in the area. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this soon."

He hesitated and was about to say more, but Stephanie beat him to the draw.

"I'm not going in a safe house, Ranger. You know my feelings on that. I have a tracker on my car and I will be spending time at Rangeman making up time for a few days."

Ranger sighed. He knew she was going to balk at more protection. It was so frustrating. He would have to think up something.

He looked at his watch. It was almost five a.m. The new day had snuck up on them both.

He gently deposited her back on the bed and stood up.

"I need to go, Babe. Duty calls. Are you sure you don't want to take some time off?"

She shook her head no. Staying in bed was not an option. She was only getting more and more stiff the longer she lay there. Time to get up and start moving around. It was only a bruise for heavens sake. She had been hit worse in the past and probably would again in the future.

Ranger picked up his web belt and buckled it around his waist. He stopped by the bed and gave her a mind-numbing kiss, then turned and walked out, carefully re-locking the front door behind him

~~~o0o~~~

Once again Stephanie was standing in front of Connie's desk. It was just past 9 am and Connie was at her desk fielding the phone messages left overnight. She pushed another box of granola bars at Stephanie after taking one bar for herself.

Stephanie reached into the box then taking one out, pushed it back to Connie. She sat in her red chair and waited for Connie to finish handling the messages.

Connie looked at her and shook her head. Nothing for her today.

Stephanie got up, waved and headed for the door. The morning meeting at Rangeman was probably over by now and it would be safe to head there. Arrive too early and you were directed to the conference room. Stephanie had attended a few morning meetings and they quickly became very, very boring. The men of Rangeman loved to rip apart any and all information down to the decimal point looking for the needle in the haystack of information.

While their success rate was phenomenal, Stephanie preferred her own method to finding and capturing her marks. It was a combination of monumental stubbornness, a good information channel in the Burg and a spidey sense that made her capture rate one of the best.

She met Lula on the way in. This morning she was dressed conservatively for her. Lula had on a long, black sequined sweater with black leggings, knee high boots and her hair was gothic black tied up in a knot at the nape of her neck.

"Hey White Girl, haven't seen you around. Are you on your way to grab someone, cause I could sure use something to eat afterwards."

Lula had a one track mind when it came to mornings. Obviously she had dashed to work without stopping, or hoped that someone had brought breakfast.

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders.

"Sorry, Lula. No skips for me today so I'm heading to Rangeman. They are short-staffed and asked me to help out for a few days. Connie has a box of granola bars in there. I tried one and they aren't donuts, but OK in a pinch."

Lula harrumphed as only she could and walked to the door.

"I never see you anymore. You don't hang around as much. Are you getting too good for us again?"

Stephanie stopped in her tracks. This was not the Lula she knew and loved. She was really hurt.

"No Lula. It's just that Connie doesn't have much for me right now and my rent is due today. Fortunately Ranger contacted me and I have a couple of days work to tide me over."

Lula grumbled something and headed inside, closing the door behind her.

Stephanie looked at the door and then shrugged. Obviously Lula had woken up on the wrong side of the bed today. It might be a long day in there.

She thought about her attitude.

Lula had stopped seeing Tank. What had gone down between them was still secret, but Tank had been a little gruffer at work lately, and Lula had been a bit more biting in her comments.

Stephanie vowed that when she had some money to spread around again, she would treat Lula to lunch and maybe get to the bottom of their latest disaster.

She headed to her cubicle sighing as she found her in-box full once again. She set to work after putting up the chart with her hours worked yesterday.

Bobby stopped by on his way to the stairwell.

"How's the back, Bomber?" He looked at her face gauging her response.

Stephanie smiled at him. "Much better today, Bobby. It hardly hurts and I can even bend without too much pain."

To prove the point, she bent over and touched her toes, then sat back up and smiled at him.

Bobby nodded and headed away. He would be adding that to the medical report, then putting it in her file.

Stephanie grimaced painfully as he walked away. That effort had cost her mightily but she did not need Bobby sneaking up on her all day surreptitiously checking on her. He was a busy man and she didn't need to add to his workload to worry about.

Stephanie dug into the pile. She worked steadily until she glanced at the clock. It was almost 11 am. She felt the need for a quick break to re-charge her batteries and headed for the break room for a snack and a bottle of water. She was feeling the need for more Aleve.

She stepped through the door and almost collided with Cal. He was standing in the doorway but he certainly looked different. Instead of his bald head and tat standing out, he was wearing what appeared to be either a very short wig or he was growing out his hair. His now ruddy complexion hid the tat on his forehead and his beard was bushy full. He was dressed in a traditional Muslim tunic.

Stephanie cried a sound of happiness and launched herself into his arms. He caught her and hugged her tightly to him. Unfortunately she stiffened a bit and his face turned from happiness to one of concern immediately.

"I'm sorry, Angel. I didn't mean to hurt you," he cried as he let her go.

Stephanie rushed to apologize. "No Cal, I am just a bit stiff today and I was so happy to see you I jumped you!" Stephanie blushed as the words tumbled out.

Cal grinned at the remark. "Angel, I'd prefer not in front of the boss. I just got back and I'd like to be here long enough to unpack!"

Stephanie blushed and swatted her hand, hitting him on one really, really hard bicep.

Cal had been talking to Vince and watched as Stephanie harrumphed and walked to the food display cooler. She could hear them talk softly and then chuckle.

As usual, Ella had stocked the fridge with all manner of fruits, vegetable trays, yogurt, and what looked suspiciously like a small piece of brownie wrapped in cellophane, sitting in the back of the cooler.

Stephanie's eyes had latched on it the second she had opened the glass door.

Her hand had tentatively moved to it and she pulled it out with trepidation. It had her name on a small piece of paper taped to the cellophane. Yes, it looked like a brownie, and opening the wrapping, put it to her nose. It certainly smelled like a brownie.

Carrying her choices to a table, she sat down and prepared to enjoy her snacks.

She took another Aleve out of her pocket and downed it with the water, all the time watching the brownie in case it disappeared off the table. She ate some carrot sticks and cauliflower never taking her eyes off her prize. Then it was decision time.

Could she devour this in the break room and risk the wrath of Ranger, or even Tank? Unfortunately she knew that she might not be able to sample this delicacy in the break room without making noise.

Stephanie re-wrapped and pocketed the brownie and stood up. She walked out the room and headed for a conference room, peeking in to see if it was vacant. Closing the door, her hand reached in her pocket and pulled it out. She unwrapped it like a Christmas present and placed it on the table, sitting down in a chair in front of it.

She picked it up and put it to her mouth. She could smell all the lovely chocolate. She opened her mouth and took a tiny bite. And she moaned. Another bite and she moaned again. She looked down at the empty wrapper and sadly crumpled it up in a ball.

Stephanie walked to the door and opened it. She was met with dead silence as she sidled out.

She was greeted with every face on the floor looking her way.

Her face reddened and she slunk to her cubicle, sitting down and putting on her ear buds.

She would never, never live this one down.

Tank was standing by his doorway, a smirk on his face. Ranger had come out of his office.

Everyone watched as he strode to her, then waved his hand in front of her face to alert her to his arrival.

Stephanie was shielded but they could tell from the set of Ranger's shoulders that he was relaxed.

He spun her chair around and looked at her as her face reddened. He slowly took a finger and wiped a piece of chocolate sauce from the side of her mouth then showed her.

They could see she was becoming a bit flustered at all the attention.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, then walked away.

She put her head down on the desk and sighed.

Her computer screen flicked on and she looked up. Hal had cut the tape from the conference room and had sent a copy to her screen. She did not need audio to see how it looked.

Stephanie put on her ear buds and vowed she would not move for the rest of the day, hoping that they would somehow forget her almost porn recording.

~~~o0o~~~

Meanwhile, across town, they were planning their next move.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for all the reviews and PM's. If I missed you or you don't allow PM's back, thank you for taking the time.**

Chapter 4

Stephanie climbed into her car. It had been a long day at Rangeman.

Her back was still aching and her good humor was at an all time low. She had regretted eating that brownie for the rest of the day. The guys had been kind, and funny, and teasing, and had tried to make her smile. They had sent over donuts, and muffins to her desk. Apparently they wanted a repeat performance.

She had taken off from her desk and the monitors found her in the gun range firing at a picture of a birthday cake. They had stopped laughing when they saw how many times she had hit it dead centre.

She felt much calmer now.

The garage gate closed after her and she drove in the direction of her parent's house. Her mom had called with the offer of supper but it was the veiled threat behind it that left her cold. Her mom stated that Val and her entire family were coming and her presence was requested or pineapple upside down cake would be forever history.

Stephanie pulled up to the house. Her mom and grandma were at the front door watching as she slowly stood up and walked their way. She wondered how criminals heading to their date with the gallows had felt.

They were silent as she passed through them into the hallway. Her dad was sitting in the living room hiding behind his paper. Mary Alice was galloping through the kitchen and thundered up the stairs. Angie was sitting in the window seat reading a book. Baby Lisa was crawling toward Stephanie with her blanket dragging behind her.

Albert was holding Val in his arms and whispering to her.

Stephanie suddenly had a really bad feeling.

She had made it with minutes to spare and headed to the kitchen to help with setting the table.

Her mother followed her.

"I don't even recognize your cars anymore, Stephanie, you change them so often. Janice Mann's daughter is still driving the same car she bought five years ago."

Stephanie wondered if she had any more Aleve in her purse. Her back was fine but the headache she could feel coming on was shaping up to be a doozy.

Everyone finally settled at the table. Tonight it was a new recipe. Stew and dumplings.

There was a collective gasp around the table. Where was the gravy? Where were the potatoes? Were those vegetables swimming in it? And, where was the wine?

Val stood up.

"We have an announcement. Albert and I are expecting a baby. We just found out and wanted to let you know before it gets out. We are hoping for a boy."

There was shocked silence then as if it was the proper thing to do, congratulations rolled around the table.

Albert was looking a little too proud of himself at the moment, and Val just looked sick. Angie rolled her eyes and looked down. Baby Lisa started to cry and Mary Alice spoke.

"Well, I hope it's a boy. Do boy horses pee differently than girl horses?"

Val looked at the ceiling and sighed.

Dessert was a quiet affair and it was almost as if everyone wanted to vacate the table as soon as possible and go home.

Stephanie was helping to clean up in the kitchen. Val was sitting at the little kitchen table wringing her hands over and over.

"I don't want to be pregnant again. We cannot afford it. The house is too small. Albert still isn't making that much money. I was looking forward to the girls all heading to school and the house being quiet for a few hours. Now, I will be getting saddled with a crying baby for another 6 years! I don't think I can handle any more than I already am and I'm barely managing that."

Edna looked at Val. It was on the tip of her tongue to mention that it took two to tango, but probably this was not a good time to bring that up. Instead, she moved her dentures around in her mouth and spoke.

"Well, maybe it will be a boy. You know how Frank keeps complaining that beside Albert the only other male in our household is Rex."

Valerie burst into tears.

Helen walked over to her oldest daughter and pulled her into her embrace.

"Honey, every baby is a gift. We will help you whenever and wherever we can. Since Stephanie is not currently seeing anyone, she has lots of time to help you. Maybe she can take the girls for an afternoon every weekend."

Stephanie just about dropped the large cooking pot she was drying. He face must have registered the shock her brain was feeling, because Val looked at her and grinned.

"Well, that would be lovely, Steph. Thanks for volunteering."

She grinned at her sister who was still standing like a deer in the headlights of life. Stephanie looked at her and faintly smiled back. They both knew that would not be happening. Rex had a hard enough life.

Stephanie finished up in the kitchen and excused herself. Her headache was really starting to pound and she wanted to go home to a nice quiet, apartment without all the drama that took place at her family's home on a regular basis.

She hugged her mom, grandma and Val on the way to the door. Her dad had already escaped to his garage. Albert was trying to sort out Mary Alice and Angie's latest argument.

She grabbed her purse and opened the front door, heading for her car. As she was walking down the sidewalk, she noted that it was in need of a bath. It was quite muddy from the rains a few days ago. When she had more money, she would get it cleaned, and maybe even vacuum the rugs. She was about to walk toward the back of the car when out of the corner of her eye she spied a non-nondescript dirty brown car with blacked out windows drive by and somebody lean out and toss something.

She dived to the ground as the bottle broke, burst into flame and her car exploded. A large metal piece of her car flew over her head landing on the lawn. She could feel the concussion from the blast rush over her and tiny pieces of shrapnel smacked against her clothes with some hot metal hitting bare skin.

As she lay on the ground shaking her cell phone began to ring.

Stephanie had a pretty good idea who it was. The tracker would have gone off line and Rangeman would be checking on her status.

She crawled to where her purse had fallen, reached in and dragged out the phone then flipped it open. Obviously there was no time to even say hello before the questions started.

"I'm alright, and no I was not in the car. I was just walking to the car to go home when it went up. No, I can just borrow Big Blue again. No, you don't need to contact Ranger. Fine, but tell him not to rush."

Stephanie contemplated taking off around the back of the house and hiding. Her first thought was always flight, not fight and tonight was no different.

She could hear sirens in the distance. She assumed the fire and police departments would have fielded a number of calls from the neighbors. She could already visualize in her mind money changing hands once again.

Her family had come outside. Val was holding Lisa in her arms and she was crying. Angie and Mary Alice were looking at the inferno with eyes wide open taking in the sight. Frank had raced through the house and was running to her side. He helped her to her feet and guided her to the porch where the family watched in wonder.

As the fire engine pulled up, a sleek black Porsche also pulled in.

Ranger slid out of the car and walked up the driveway, taking in the fact that the whole extended Plum family was standing on the porch, under the bright light.

He shook his head. Stephanie was in danger whether she wanted to admit it or not and here she was standing outside under a bright light like a sitting duck in an arcade.

He moved a little faster, all the while checking the surroundings for anything suspicious. He could hear another vehicle pull up and park behind the Porsche and suspected that it was Tank also checking it out.

Ranger walked up to the family and tried to usher them inside the house but the lights from the flames and the water hitting the fire made for a spectacular view. He sighed then changed his tactics and shielding Stephanie from the road with his body, he gave her a hug.

"Having a tough day, Babe? I see that this one lasted a whole two weeks. Maybe we should be looking at getting you an armored personnel carrier. I have some contacts."

Stephanie had had enough of this day too. She burst into tears as she held her head between both hands. Her headache was getting worse, and her back hurt from diving to the ground.

A scuffed light green Grand Am pulled up. There was a flashing light on the roof and Ranger sighed. He looked at Morelli as he stepped out of the car. He could already see by his demeanor that he was ready to give Stephanie an earful. Great, this was the last thing anybody needed.

Joe Morelli and Stephanie Plum were like oil and water right now. Ranger mentally went through the opening sentence that Morelli usually lead with anytime he was dealing with a Plum disaster. Let's see. 'I told you one of these days that your family will get hurt because of the stupid things you do, or, I just knew it was you when I heard of a car exploding, or, you should quit working for those thugs and marry me, or, your place is in the home taking care of babies, not running around town destroying cars; and his own personal favorite, NOT, what the hell have you gotten yourself into now, Cupcake?'

Stephanie looked up at Ranger. She could feel his muscles contract and his arms hold her a little harder.

"You can't punch or shoot him. He's not worth it, Ranger."

Luckily a black and white pulled up right behind Joe and Carl and Big Dog emerged. They looked at the flaming inferno and nodded at each other.

Strolling over to the porch, they could feel the tension in the air. Carl headed over to Joe to guide him away from the porch. Nobody needed a blow up right now.

Big Dog took out his notebook and a pencil and stood ready. He just knew that this was going to be good. Every time Stephanie's cars blew, it was something out of the ordinary. He also knew that at some point she would be professing that it was not her fault. Actually, most of the time it really wasn't, but she had the worst luck. It was the old adage, if she didn't have bad luck, she would have no luck.

Maybe in her case, no luck would be safer.

Big Dog looked at Stephanie as she was engulfed in Ranger's arms. He was in protective mode right now and even though the scene appeared to be safe, he was not stupid enough to race in and scare either of them with sudden movements or conversation.

He cleared his throat and waited until Ranger acknowledged his presence. Big Dog was a patient man.

Stephanie shuddered then straightened up. He was already cognizant that she had had a bad day yesterday with Freddie and was probably still feeling the effects of the attack. He noted that her face was screwed up as if in pain.

"I'm not going to keep you too long Stephanie. There are obviously enough witnesses around this block that we can get lots of perspective here. Did you recognize what might give us a clue who did this or what might have been behind the attack?"

Big Dog had already assumed that the explosion had not been her fault.

Stephanie thought for a moment.

"I was just heading to my car and a brown car drove by. He slowed down and someone reached out the window and threw something. I dived to the ground as it rolled under the car and then my car blew up. I never saw that car before. I didn't recognize who threw the incendiary, but the size of the muscles of the arm on the person led me to believe that it was male. He was quite muscular and I thought I saw a flash of a tat, or something that appeared like a flash of red."

Big Dog marked down her observations. Carl and Joe were standing on the street as the fire fighters were getting ready to roll up the hoses. A tow truck was standing by ready to hook onto the burned out car.

One pointed to the ground and both men headed to a streak of rubber. They looked from the hulk of the car to the skid mark and brought out a tape measure. They bent down and started to take some measurements.

Big Dog looked at Ranger.

"I'm assuming that you will take her home. Looks like everything is wrapping up here but if we find something, we will let you know, Steph."

Big Dog headed to where Joe and Carl were standing. They compared notes and prepared to leave.

Stephanie wiggled out of Ranger's embrace.

She headed back to the family who were preparing to leave. Val had gathered up all the baby supplies and had Angie and Mary Alice putting on coats and gathering up their school work. Albert was carrying the first load to their mini-van.

She kissed her parents good bye and hugged her grandma.

Tank was speaking to Ranger as they watched the remains of the car roll away behind the tow truck. Tank nodded and moved to his vehicle. He was already on his phone.

Ranger waited for Stephanie to finish her farewells then met her at the porch and walked her down the sidewalk. He walked her to his car, and opening up the passenger door, watched as she slid into the soft leather seat. He reached in and helped to put on her seatbelt. She was grimacing in pain and her face was screwed up fighting it.

He walked around to the driver's side and slid in, putting on his seatbelt as he started the car. He turned off the radio and blessed silence filled the interior.

Stephanie looked out the window but she was not seeing the scenery as he pulled away. She didn't acknowledge the neighbors drift to the Plum driveway to discuss the incident. She didn't see as Ranger turned the car left at the corner, heading to Rangeman.

Stephanie was totally unaware of her surroundings until Ranger drove up to and waited for the garage door to open before driving down the ramp. He parked in one of his personal spots and turned off the car.

"I thought you were going to take me home Ranger. I do not think I will be very good company tonight. I have a really bad headache right now and I just want to take a shower and go to bed."

Ranger nodded. He had already had Tank notify Bobby and he would meet him on seven. Tank was already in contact with Ella and she was preparing something light but special in case Stephanie felt the need or desire to snack on something.

Tank had also contacted Hector. If this was gang related they needed to know the amount of danger levelled at Stephanie. They had assumed that the Slayers had moved on, but there might always be someone who was carrying a grudge and they wanted to check out that possibility.

Stephanie sat in the car. Ranger had opened the passenger door and reached in to assist her to climb out but she didn't move.

"I really don't want to see anybody or bother anybody, Ranger. I would really appreciate it if you would just take me home."

Her eyes plead with him.

Ranger knelt down so he was at eye level with her.

"Babe, I can see you are in pain. I want Bobby to check you out, even just to give you something to dull your headache. Ella left something up on seven in case you wanted a snack. She already took the time to run you a bath. How about you stay for awhile and then when you want to go home, I can run you there when you say so."

He hoped that with the temptation of a bubble bath in his oversized jet tub and an Ella snack, she might cave in. He was also banking on the fact that after that, and some mild sedative that Bobby would administer, that she would consent to stay the night.

It was so much safer at Rangeman and until the danger had been averted, he wanted to keep an eye on her.

Stephanie thought about her options. Well, she was here and Ranger had promised to take her home later.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and with Ranger's hand holding her by the elbow, she stepped out.

They walked to the elevator which was open waiting and Ranger pressed his key fob taking them directly to seven. She had watched that the elevator was not stopping on four first.

Ella had been and gone from the apartment by the time they walked in. Stephanie could see another cake dome sitting on the counter. She could also smell the bubble bath fragrance wafting from the bathroom.

Unfortunately, Bobby was standing in the living room. He had his bag with him and guided her to the couch.

He took out a small penlight and checked her eyes. He felt around her neck then asking permission to lift her shirt at the back, checked the bruised area.

"I have something that will take your headache down to a manageable level Bomber. Take these and go have a bath. I think the combination will take away your headache pretty soon."

He handed her two pills and a bottle of water.

Stephanie looked at the pills. They did not look like anything she had had before and her eyes lifted to check out Bobby. He gave nothing away that it might be anything more powerful than a mild pain reliever, and with a sigh she swallowed them followed by a large gulp of water.

Stephanie headed for the bathroom and closed the door. She quickly stripped and stepped into the tub. She turned on the jets and tried to relax.

Bobby looked at Ranger.

"I added a muscle relaxant to the pain reliever I gave her. She wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight with the additional trauma her back has had otherwise. I expect that they will take effect in about ten minutes so you better be prepared to help her out of the tub before she falls asleep in there. Those pills should knock her out for the entire night.

Ranger nodded and set his watch.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you readers for taking the time to read and review. We make no money from this, and reviews are much appreciated. JE is to be complimented on the wonderful characters that she created so that we can take out to play with.**

Chapter 5

Ranger shifted. He was laying in bed holding Stephanie against him.

Last night he had waited for his watch to beep and as he slipped into the bathroom, he could see that the pills had certainly taken effect.

Stephanie was leaning back in the tub and her eyes were closed. The lack of the tension lines on her forehead confirmed the fact that her headache had subsided to a level that was now manageable. He could see that the medicinal effects had kicked in and she was barely awake.

He helped her out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her. He guided her to the bedroom and sat her on the edge of the bed. He already had one of his t-shirts handy and slipped it over her head, then he helped her to slide into what he came to think of as her side of the bed and covered her up.

Stephanie opened her eyes slightly and looked blearily at Ranger.

"I'll get finished dressing and you can take me home now, Ranger."

Ranger kissed her on her forehead. She was already asleep.

He headed back into the bathroom and reaching in, pulled the plug on the tub. He emerged from the bathroom and headed for the kitchen, lifting the cake dome lid to see what Ella had left her this time.

It had some kind of a graham cracker crumb crust with what looked like an orange based filling. Ranger took his forefinger and swiped a bit of the dessert, putting it to his tongue. Umm, it tasted pretty good and not even very sweet. He put it in the fridge to keep it cold.

He texted Bobby and gave him a medical update.

Ranger headed back into the bedroom and stripping down, he slid into bed and pulled her to him. She snuggled against him and a sigh emerged.

Ranger held her in his arms. He hated that there might be someone after her again.

The core team was trying to find any information on why she was being targetted once again.

Ranger sighed. He had always tried to keep her at arms' length thinking that his enemies would try to get to him through her. Truth be known, she had more enemies here and most of the time they liked to fly under the radar making it hard to keep track.

As Ranger's eyes closed, he wondered if his plan to stay away from her was backfiring.

He was certainly not happy with life right now and he could tell that Stephanie was also questioning whether it was her fault she was unattached.

As he drifted off to sleep, he heard her murmur, 'Ranger'.

~~~o0o~~~

In a little house on the wrong side of town, there was a meeting.

"Well, another minute and she would have been in the car. Your timing sucks. We can only hope that she was not able to give much information."

There were a number of heads bobbing.

"You need to get rid of the car."

Once again, heads bobbed. They may not be rocket scientists, but they did recognize the need to cover their tracks.

"I suspect that she is locked away in Rangeman as the lookout reported that she did not arrive at her apartment.

OK, here's what we are going to do..."

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie woke up to a pair of chocolate brown eyes watching her. She tried to lift her arms over her head to stretch but she seemed to be wrapped up in a strong embrace.

She smiled at the view in front of her. Ranger looked a bit tousled with his hair sporting that bed head look framing his face. He had a bit of a shadow of a beard on his chiselled jaw. Stephanie looked up at his bedroom eyes. She could feel his morning wood against her leg.

She hitched her breath. He looked handsome any time of the day, but she loved how he looked first thing in the morning the best. Mind you, she was only going on the few times they had been together, but the look was burned into her memory.

She was feeling a bit on the teasing side this morning, and a slight moan escaped.

Ranger looked startled then smiled.

"Nice try, Babe. You have an appointment in Bobby's office in one hour and he hates to be kept waiting. While I would love to collect on that rain check, I don't want to be rushed."

Stephanie gulped. Why did she do that? He could always turn around anything she could ever plan and make it under his direction.

She decided to change the topic.

"I need to have a couple of words with your medic, Ranger. I suspect that that mild pain reliever he gave me was a load of bullshit to keep me here all night. He better keep on his toes, Ranger and don't you warn him either."

Ranger chuckled. Stephanie was a force to be reckoned with if she was out to teach one of his men a lesson. While he had approved of the action, maybe the fact that the method had also been very effective might not keep Bobby safe. Well, he was a big boy and could look after himself.

Bobby could take one for the team.

Stephanie's eyes changed and her cheerful face hardened.

"While we are on the subject of why I am still here, so why am I still here, Ranger" I wanted to go home and you said that after Bobby saw me you would take me home, and yet here I am laying in your bed, dressed in your t-shirt and it appears to be morning!"

Ranger had the grace to look a bit uncomfortable. He had made absolutely no effort to do as she had asked and once again, he had ignored her plea for being allowed to be independent but had taken it upon himself to override her request.

She squirmed and stated. "I have to pee, Ranger, like now!"

He immediately released her and she dashed out of bed and into the bathroom shutting the door firmly. He could hear the shower turn on and he was considering whether to join her. After all, he had stated that he was good in the shower.

The decision was made for him as the shower turned off. That was probably one of the fastest showers she had ever taken. He guessed the answer had been given.

She came out of the room dressed in the robe that had been hanging on the hook behind the door. Ranger noted that it was pretty roomy in there. It was his, and he thought that although he had never worn it, he liked how it looked so much better on her anyway.

Stephanie headed into Ranger's closet. She knew that Ella would have a couple of Rangeman outfits hiding in there somewhere. She was always prepared in case Stephanie needed a change of clothing handy.

She came out of the dressing room and made a bee-line for the kitchen. She had remembered Ella's snack. In her world, breakfast included dessert.

Ranger jumped out of bed and foregoing his usual morning shower climbed into some clothes. He was trying to ward off the thought that she was treating a dessert, albeit probably a healthy dessert, but dessert non the less as breakfast. He had already phoned Ella and she was on her way up.

Ranger made it into the kitchen as Stephanie was already half way through eating a large crudely-cut portion. He waited for the right moment to strike as she lifted her fork to her mouth and swiftly took the plate away with one hand, and the cake dome with the other.

He knew that there would be a complaint any second. It had always been his adage that one never takes food away from a starving person, but a woman being denied her dessert was almost as dangerous.

Ella knocked on the door and Ranger met her in the hallway with the stolen treats in his hands. Stephanie was right behind him with her fork raised and she appeared to be in attack mode.

While he was not afraid of what the fork could do, he watched her as he handed the treats back to Ella.

"Thank you, Ella. I can tell that Stephanie enjoyed it very much, but please take it back to your kitchen for another time."

Stephanie was still closing the gap but had now turned her sights on Ella. She put a hand up and stopped Stephanie in her tracks.

She put the pie and cake dome on her tray, and continued on to the kitchen.

Ella took her time laying out the breakfast for two. She put down decorative placemats, a vase with a single gerbera flower in it in the middle of the nook, and a fancy carafe with coffee, a small cream pitcher and sugar bowl on a tray. She had prepared a plain bagel with lox and fresh fruit for Ranger, and pancakes and warm maple syrup for Stephanie. Stephanie's pancakes sported a dollop of whipped cream on the top and a strawberry nestled in the cream.

She backed out of the kitchen taking the cart with her and let herself out the door.

Stephanie glared at Ranger but moved to the breakfast nook where the pancakes sat. He watched as she sat down and picking up her knife and fork, cut into the stack then put a maple syrup dripping chunk of pancake into her mouth.

He picked up his bagel and looked at it. While it was wholesome and very healthy, looking at Stephanie digging into her pancakes, they looked almost worth the extra work.

He watched her finish eating then prepare her coffee with a careful pouring of milk and two heaping teaspoons of sugar.

Ranger sat with his black coffee and grimaced. Taking into account the pie, then the pancakes and syrup and now all the sugar in her coffee, what she had just ingested was almost alarming.

"That stuffs gonna kill you, Babe."

Stephanie responded with a smile as she took another sip and sighed.

"If it's my time to go, at least I'll die with a full tummy and a sugar high, Ranger."

Ranger's phone beeped.

"Bobby's expecting you on four, Babe. Drink up and let's go."

~~~o0o~~~

Lula looked at the wad of cash in her hand.

She shrugged. Money was money and what Vinnie grudgingly handed out each pay period barely paid for the necessities of life. Well, besides being a big, beautiful woman, she was also a woman with needs.

Tank had not been around and she was realizing how much she had been depending on him financially over the past few years.

Lula wanted to be able to walk into a store and buy whatever she wanted. She wanted to dream knowing that she could look after herself until she found another sugar daddy who appreciated her for herself.

Lula looked down at her body. She saw a large, black beautiful person wasting their life in this little hick town. Maybe it was time to pull up stakes and take her tent somewhere she would be appreciated.

She thought of the friends she had made . Top of the list was obviously Stephanie and Connie.

They were also people who appeared to be rotting away on the vines of life here.

Connie had so many connections and abilities that she could be in charge of a large corporate office anywhere. Her first hand knowledge of what really was going on in the business world was largely ignored unless you knew where to look.

She had so many contacts and in-roads in the Familys' business that if she chose, she could take over and help to run any business currently running. Hell, she could start up one and make it flourish.

Stephanie, well Stephanie was special. She would never ever begin to thank her for saving her life, but damn that girl, could she get into trouble!

Lula thought back. She had gotten Stephanie out of so many jams because she never carried her gun and if she did it was always empty. What good was that? In this business you had to be there, or be square, and Lula felt that Stephanie was like a square peg in a round hole when it came to life.

She tried hard, the good Lord knew she tried, but how were any of them going to get any money if all she took on was the low and easy bonds? Lula grimaced. For helping her capture and using her beloved firebird, going through her gas, and of course her precious time, and Stephanie only gave her fifty bucks?

One of these days the way it was going, that would only partially fill the gas tank with gas!

Lula looked at her dingy apartment. It was definitely time to move on up. She wanted something with an elevator. Living on the third floor in the attic apartment definitely had its challenges.

She thought of the stairs and how many times she had had to hoof them carrying her purchases in multiple loads. It was no wonder that she left early in the morning and didn't return until late at night. Beside not having a kitchen, the hot plate and microwave did not lend itself to making gourmet meals.

She wanted to learn to cook some day but until then, take-out was easy, cheap and available. Taking out the garbage was nothing but a pain, but she had almost perfected hitting the big garbage can in the back alley from her bathroom window. The few times she missed, by morning the stray dogs and cats would have taken the remnants away, mostly.

She shrugged in resignation. Times were hard right now but she could feel herself gearing up for a nice big payday soon. Her personal astrology profile had said so, and they could see into the future, right?

This morning she had read it and it said: '_You've got people who can help you. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. You may stumble but you will pick yourself up._'


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Bobby greeted Stephanie as she walked into his office. He had been warned by Ella about Ranger taking away her snack and he was cautious.

He looked a bit nervous as she smiled at him. It was not a 'I'm happy to see you' smile. It was more like a, 'be afraid, be very afraid' smile. Bobby was as rough and tough as any of the Merry Men, but as a healer he sometimes let his guard down too early. He vowed to watch his back for a few days.

He shone his penlight in her eyes and massaged around her neck again feeling for tension. He asked for and received permission to check out the bruise on her back, and professed it starting to heal but grudgingly admitted that it was now quite vibrant in color.

Stephanie hopped off the table and advanced to the door.

Bobby was still standing by the examining table but he stopped his clean-up to look at her.

"Be careful out there Bomber. You are special to us all and I really hate to see you when you are only needing medical attention . I don't want to tell you what to do, but could you at least consider staying at Rangeman until we get to the bottom of who seems to be targeting you?"

Stephanie stopped to consider the remark. It had been made with all the sincerity Bobby could muster.

"I have to think about it. As you know, I really like my independence. Just because someone doesn't like the idea of me walking around doesn't mean that I need to go into hiding. I don't see it as a perceived threat yet and I refuse to hide until I know differently, Bobby."

She walked back to give him a soft kiss on the cheek and continued walking out the door.

She stepped onto five and headed to her cubicle, not surprised that once again her in box was filled with search requests.

Stephanie looked at her chart and mentally calculated that by lunch she would have paid off the early payment debt. Swiftly she got to work and as the clock ticked to the 12 Stephanie happily pressed print to finish off the last search.

She headed for the break room and picked up a yogurt, some fruit, a bottle of water, and a low fat muffin.

She came back to her desk and stuffed it all in her purse then shut down the computer. She looked around and noticing that all was neatly put away, headed for the elevator.

Ranger was in the basement as she walked out. He had just come out the door from the range and looked to be heading back to his office.

"Hey Babe, what's the hurry?"

Stephanie stopped and looked at him. She had grabbed a set of keys from the rack and was preparing to leave.

"I have to head over to the bond office. I haven't checked in with Connie and I need to see if there is something for me. I want to get home and feed Rex and I need to change into some different clothes."

Ranger quickly headed to her side noting the keys in her hand. He had no idea which vehicle she planned on taking.

Can I can come with you? I don't think anybody has been to the bond office yet and I can pick up anything Connie has earmarked for Rangeman."

He waited with baited breath. He really, really did not want her heading off alone. They were a bit short-staffed right now and pulling someone off to keep an eye on her was not going to work.

Stephanie stopped dead in her tracks.

"I don't need to have someone with me, Ranger. I can look after myself. I have my gun, I have my panic button, and I'm taking one of your vehicles so you can track me."

Ranger could see her drawing herself up to her full height ready to debate the issue.

He tread very carefully with his next remark.

"Babe, until we can get to the bottom of what's going on, I would feel a lot better if you had someone with you. I am getting a bad feeling here that you are in danger, and until we can neutralize it, please let us help for a bit."

Stephanie stopped. Darn, he used the P word again.

"Fine, Ranger, but if nothing happens today, I am going to move back home tonight and you are not going to fight me on it. Rex needs me, I like my privacy, I need to get another car and I need to wash clothes."

Even to her ears, the excuses sounded flimsy.

Ranger took the keys from her fingers and hung them back up on a hook. He had quickly glanced and noted that of all the keys she could have grabbed, the vehicle she had planned to take was the only vehicle in the fleet with a tracker not working. It was booked in for repair later today. At the morning meeting Woody had reported that it had been giving off errant signals and had been removed from the active duty fleet temporarily.

Ranger guided her over to the Turbo.

They left the garage and headed to her apartment to check on Rex.

Mrs. Bestler was manning the elevator and without even asking, pressed the button for the second floor. She was uncharacteristically silent today until the door opened on two.

She croaked. "I hope your cousin comes back. He was such a fine, polite young man. He said he was in town to see you but would drop in later. I asked him if he wanted to leave you a note, but he said he would phone you when he was free."

Ranger looked at her, then Stephanie. She shook her head. She had not received any phone calls and couldn't imagine for the life of her who it might be that came to visit.

Neither of them commented as they walked down the hallway to her apartment door.

Ranger took her keys and unlocked the door, motioning her to stay outside while he checked for intruders. He drew his gun and slipped inside.

He came back and nodded that it was safe to enter.

Stephanie stepped in looking around. Everything looked normal and she began to relax. She headed to the kitchen. Rex was sleeping in his soup can, exhausted after a long night of running on his wheel. She softly knocked on the side of his aquarium and called out a hello.

She took the tiny bag of hamster nuggets and put some in his bowl, then rummaging in her bag, she brought out a single piece of carrot from the break room that she had wrapped up in a facial tissue. She added a bit of the muffin for a treat.

Ranger looked around surreptitiously. She had not opened the fridge so that meant that there was no edible food in there. She had taken the bag of nuggets from the the top of the counter so he could not see what was in her cupboards. He noticed no dirty dishes in the sink or dishes drying on the drain rack. All the signs pointed to an apartment devoid of any food for human consumption, and only a little for a hamster.

He had noticed that her clothes were fitting a bit looser lately. He came to the conclusion that the few meals she had had at Rangeman was probably the first real food she had had in awhile and he discounted the fact that she ate at her parent's all that often. The drama that went on at that house probably dampened any desire to sneak in a meal there, no matter the reason.

Dios, how to feed her nutritionally and yet make it look innocent? He had planned whole insertions into volatile countries with squads of soldiers, with timing so precise to avoid disaster, and he couldn't keep the one person he loved safe from someone, or even herself? He shook his head in frustration.

Stephanie looked around. Everything seemed the way it should. She was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed tonight but the thought of being there alone cast a slight damper on her enthusiasm. She had wakened to Ranger holding her in his embrace. She had felt safe in his apartment. Ella had fed her probably her favorite breakfast food and although she hated the way it had been handled, she appreciated the concern of the men.

She led Ranger back to the door.

"See, everything's fine. We can go to the bond office to check on files. Lula can drive me around if she has time or I can always phone Dad to pick me up to get Big Blue. I know you need to get back and I don't want to take any more of your time. I checked and I have paid back in time the money you gave me, so we are good there."

Ranger squelched a hint of sadness. She was getting ready to distance herself again. She had put up her mental armor and was preparing to cut him loose.

He schooled his face and followed her out the door, taking her keys and making sure the lock was firmly engaged.

Mrs. Bestler was still manning the elevator and gave another nugget of information on the way down.

"That nice young man should take the time to wash his car before he leaves town. It was so dirty, and the color! Who buys a brown car anyway?"

Both Ranger and Stephanie stopped their movements. That was a loose description of the car that had been driven when the Molotov cocktail had been thrown at her car.

Stephanie looked down at her diminutive neighbor. She was trying not to scare her, but Mrs. Bestler had the strangest ability sometimes to remember details.

"Mrs. Bestler. I am sure it is all right but did you get a full view of my cousin? I have a couple of them that might have visited. Do you remember anything different, or unusual?"

The door on the elevator opened on the main floor and Ranger reached over and pressed the stop button.

Mrs. Bestler thought for a minute.

"Well, he was young, and he had a nice tan. His hair was in those messy drecks I think they call them. He needs to buy a belt to keep his pants up and he looked nervous, like he wasn't sure when he saw me. I saw him get into the back seat of the car, so someone was driving him around."

Ranger reached over and disengaged the stop button on the elevator.

"Thank you so much. I think I know which cousin it was now. Oh, and Mrs. Bestler, I think they call them dreads," said Stephanie.

She walked out the elevator with Ranger following closely on her heels.

She could hear Mrs. Bestler mutter about the hair styles of the young people these days. Did nobody go to the barbershop anymore?

Mentally Ranger was pumping his fist. Score! Now he could use the argument that whoever was targeting Stephanie knew where she lived. She should continue to stay at Rangeman where they could protect her and get to the bottom of this.

The drive to the bond office was made in silence. Each was deep in thought.

Stephanie was worrying that now it was confirmed that someone knew where she lived that Ranger would be making his plans on keeping her at Rangeman. She was torn. One one side, she hated that she would be in his debt once again with the effort he would put out trying to identify her stalker. Her movements would be monitored and she could look forward to a shadow anytime she stepped foot out of the building, assuming of course that she would be allowed out of the building. Her temper started to rise. She hated being told what she could and could not do.

On the other hand, Ella was there, and the 1,000 count sheets, and Ranger's shower, and especially Ranger. What a conundrum.

Ranger, on the other hand was planning his own attack. He was preparing his arguments that Stephanie move over to Rangeman until it was deemed safe to move back to her apartment. He thought of the flimsy locks and lack of security monitoring at her apartment. He figured that her lack of transportation made borrowing a vehicle the prudent thing to do until she could get her insurance money and find another. He thought that Rex might need a holiday and everyone likes a change in scenery. He thought of bribing her with his over-sized jet tub, his expansive shower with never-ending hot water and was not above mentioning his king-sized bed. Last, but certainly not least, he was hoping to dangle Ella in front of her with the possibility of desserts, and home cooked, nutritious but tasty meals.

The trip continued on in silence as they both planned their next moves.

Ranger pulled into an open space directly in front of the bond office. Stephanie sighed at the parking karma that all members of Rangeman seemed to be born with.

Ranger stepped out and walked around to help Stephanie out of the car. He did everything so fast that she had barely time to unhook her seatbelt and grab her purse and he was at her door.

They walked into the bond office together. Connie was on the phone and writing something down. Lula was sitting on the couch reading a magazine and looked up as they walked in the door.

"Hey, Skinny White Girl. Nice to see you two days in a row. Hey, have you been losing weight? I have the perfect thing. Why don't we go for lunch and we can catch up."

Stephanie shook her head sadly.

"I have lunch with me, Lula, just yogurt and a muffin, but how about tomorrow? I want to get caught up too."

Connie got off the phone. She pointed to two piles, a large one for Rangeman and a much smaller one for Stephanie.

"Here you both are. I might have another one for you tomorrow, Steph. That was Freddie. He said that he's planning on showing up at court tomorrow but his voice didn't sound sincere. He didn't like the accommodations last time and I pointed out that he was in the deluxe suite and if he missed again, I would make sure he was in an even less comfortable setting if he misses his court date again."

Connie carried a lot of weight with the police department. She handled a lot of crap but she had her limit, and it appeared that Freddie had reached hers.

Stephanie looked at Lula.

"I have need of a wheel man for a couple of days. Could we use your car and get some of these FTA's off the street? I can promise you lunch, and we can catch up."

Lula smiled. She missed talking to Stephanie. They had not had too much time lately and she was lonely. Since she had dumped Tank she was finding herself sitting at home alone.

"Sure, I can pick you up tomorrow and we can start with breakfast."

Ranger cleared his throat.

"Stephanie's got a bit of an issue with someone following her again. I would feel better if I could instead arrange for her to leave with one of my men and then you could meet for lunch later."

He cringed as three sets of eyes glared at him. Non of them liked the innuendo that he had just spouted. Lula felt hurt that he did not trust her with her friend, and Stephanie did not like that he was trying to make plans for her. Connie just hated to be bossed around.

He tried to backtrack but the damage was done. Then, to add insult to injury, he spoke again.

"I have not had lunch and if you ladies would care to join me, we could stop at Pino's for a bite."

Stephanie pulled herself up to her full height. There, he had just confirmed that she would be staying at Rangeman, that he would have time to arrange for a bodyguard and that he was trying to placate them with food at Pino's. The nerve!

Without saying a word, Lula stood up and walked out of the office, got in her car and drove off. Stephanie watched her go, then looked at Connie.

"I need to go to the washroom, if you don't mind", and walking past Ranger, headed down the hall, closing the door very loudly and turning the lock.

Ranger looked down the hall. His eyes narrowed slightly.

Just then, Vinnie came out of his office and motioned to Ranger. He needed to see him about a case out of state.

Ranger was hesitant, but followed Vinnie into the office. He kept the door ajar listening for the moment that Stephanie returned. He needed to keep her in sight.

Connie tiptoed to the bathroom door and knocked once, very softly.

Stephanie stepped out, then sidled over to the back door, opening it and sliding through. Connie closed and locked the door then headed back to her desk.

Ranger came back out of Vinnie's office. Stephanie had been in there way too long. He looked at Connie as she furiously typed on her computer, noting that a slight red blush was now evident on her cheeks.

He strode down to the bathroom door and knocked. There was no answer. He quickly picked the lock and walked in.

The trackers were sitting on the sink and her panic button was beside it.

Ranger walked back into the main office, and glanced at Connie, then let himself out the door, his phone already at his ear.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Stephanie met Lula a block down the street and hopped in the car.

She was still shaking with anger, but the minute the two looked at each other, they grinned and high fived each other. They would thank Connie later.

Lula headed her car out of the Burg. By now Ranger would have put out an APB (all points bulletin) to Rangeman to be on the lookout for Lula's firebird and they would be checking out their normal haunts.

Stephanie sat back and relaxed. Her friends had her back. They had bristled at the restrictions that Ranger had put her under. Nobody did that and got away with it.

Lula parked in the back lot of a little restaurant. They had found it one day while they were out looking for a skip.

It was fast and cheap, but better still, it was out of the way and they could talk in peace.

Lula and Stephanie walked into the diner and took a booth at the back. They both ordered a cold drink and perused the menu.

"So, White Girl, other than having that fine ass of a man chasing you, what have you been up to? We never see you very much anymore. I know that it has been a bit slow in the office, but you could come and visit now and then."

Stephanie played with the glass. How do you tell your friends that you are so very broke and cannot even drive to the office unless there is something to pick up? How do you admit to your pals that you are so hungry that you were ready to fight your hamster for his food? How do you tell someone that your bills are piling up and everything can come crashing down around your ears if you even get so much as a parking ticket?

Lula looked at Stephanie. Her facial expressions had never been a mystery. She decided to change the subject.

"I dropped Tankie like a hot rock a month ago. I am sure you heard. He wanted me to change who I am and who I want to be. He insinuated that I should change my wardrobe now that I have a, 'and she made finger quotes in the air', "real" job and am now in the public representing Plum Bail Bonds, not Vinnie's Ho Garden of Love."

Stephanie sat with a furrowed brow. She just could not believe that Tank had done that. Tank was so supportive of her changing her profession. He loved his ladies big and black. He loved the colors she wore and complimented her all the time.

"I can't believe he would say that, Lula. At Rangeman, he may be a man of few words, but when he talks about you, he can't help but show how proud of you his is."

Lula grumbled. "Well, I'mma telling you that he has changed, and not for the better. I cut my losses and I am footloose and fancy free now. I'm looking around, girlfriend, and let me tell you, there's lots of eye candy out there."

The waitress came back and they placed their orders.

Stephanie sat with a furrowed brow. She may be tired, and she may be hungry, but something did not sound right here.

Their meals arrived at that moment and they both dug in.

Stephanie looked sideways at her friend. She seemed different somehow. One minute she was joking and the next she was so very serious. Leaving Tank must have taken a toll on her.

They chatted as they ate, catching up.

Lula was thinking of changing her job. She needed more money than what Vinnie was prepared to pay. She wanted a new car, and more shoes. She had been checking the help wanted ads and was keeping her options open.

Lula pulled out some money to pay for lunch. Stephanie could not help but mentally note that that was the first time she had ever, ever paid for a meal.

Lula noticed her eyeing her wallet "I'm doing some jobs with a friend right now and the pay is really good. Don't worry, it's not my former profession, in case you are wondering."

She glanced at Stephanie gauging her reaction. Stephanie shrugged her shoulders.

Lula had always bounced when it came to life. If she was working a side job she would find out about it eventually. Lula could not keep a secret for long.

They glanced up at the clock, noting that over two hours had elapsed since they had snuck away.

"So, how do you want to do this, Steph?"

Stephanie had been wondering the same thing. As soon as they hit town, she suspected that she would be found. Would they surround the car and drag her out and take her back to Rangeman?

Should she tempt fate and have Lula drop her off at home, where her Grandma was and have to watch as someone from Rangeman risked their manhood to come collect her?

If she headed for her apartment, would they post an around-the-clock guard, making them more short-staffed in the process?

Should she 'man up' and have Lula drive her to Rangeman so she could face the music for the stunt.

She was feeling like a small child who had run away from home but hadn't yet figured out where to go.

Stephanie sighed as she finished her drink.

"I guess you better drop me at Rangeman. I have a feeling I will be explaining my actions soon enough."

While it had been fun, and exciting to get the drop on Ranger, she was mentally preparing herself to feel his wrath. She knew he was trying to keep her safe, but sometimes she just needed to get away and think.

Mentally she shook herself. It had been a dumb thing to take off and she was willing to admit that to Ranger, but at the same time, it was her life. She refused to take all the blame believing that his suffocating rules had driven her to take off.

She tried to justify the whole episode in her mind. She was a grown woman and yet he had not taken the time to sit down with her and discuss it like adults. Instead, he had ordered her to do this, and not to do that. She was not one of his soldiers or employees.

She had come to the conclusion some time ago that she could never work full-time at Rangeman. She would never be able to work under the rules and regulations that made Rangeman Enterprises the best of the best in the way of a well-managed company.

She had been feeling for some time that it was time to cut her losses and maybe move away. Trenton was not holding the same interest anymore.

She was not the greatest bond enforcement agent and the fact that she was probably never going to be given anything larger than the crumbs at the bottom only confirmed that her career path might be forking ahead of her.

Her apartment was coming up for renewal on the lease and the owners had already been in discussion with her about it being turned into a dedicated seniors complex. There was city funding that could be applied for if she moved out. Her neighbors were all lovely people but they were all living on fixed incomes and would appreciate their rents being lowered if that happened.

Last but certainly not least, she had been wondering about her relationship, or in this case, lack of relationship with Ranger.

She had never been, nor ever would be a love-em-and-leave-em kind of girl. She was on the wrong side of thirty now. She felt she needed to figure out something soon.

While she was not planning on being the married with children playing in the backyard kind of girl, she wanted to at least be able to have the opportunity to participate in a stable relationship.

She had been holding the conversation with Lula and pondering her future at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking.

She looked at Lula. She was ready to head back and face the music.

Lula smiled a smug smile. She would help her best friend. No man was going to keep them down for long.

They climbed back into the car and headed back to town, toward Haywood. At the edge of town, they both noticed a black Escape perform a u-turn in the middle of the road and follow them.

They looked at each other and shrugged.

Lula stopped at the front door and Stephanie climbed out. She walked into the main lobby, nodding at Zip who was manning the desk. He nodded back, but did not smile. Hmmmm.

Stephanie went to press the elevator button but the elevator door opened. She walked in and the door closed. The button for seven lit up and the elevator swiftly rose.

The door opened and Stephanie stepped out. The apartment door was open.

She gulped and walked in, placing her purse on the hall table and taking off her shoes, she waited.

Ranger walked out of the kitchen.

**A/N- Bonus days – a chapter both Saturday and Sunday. It's March and the start of spring, right? Please?**


	8. Chapter 8

**No Janet, I still need them... to protect me!**

Chapter 8

Stephanie stood in the hallway. Ranger moved and walking past her closed the apartment door.

She headed for the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Her mouth felt suddenly dry as toast. She saw the trackers and panic button she had left in the bathroom sitting on the counter.

Stephanie headed back out to the living room and sat in a chair. She opened up the bottle and took a drink.

Ranger noticed that she had taken "his" chair. OK, she was setting the parameters. Well, she was angry, but he was well beyond angry.

He sat down in the easy chair and steepled his fingers.

Ranger spoke.

"I try to anticipate problems before they become problems. I am still alive because I am careful. I make sure I have back-up and leave nothing to chance. I assume the worst and hope for the best."

He paused.

"I am sending you a bill for the time and money I just spent bringing in contract workers so that my men could attempt to track you down. We had to cancel a major installation and I personally had to postpone two meetings with potential clients, which I dearly hope that we do not lose."

Stephanie grimaced.

He continued.

"Connie thought it was funny until I explained what had happened up to this point in time. She is involved with her Family enough that she can see the signs when there is danger and prepare. She has her own network for back-up and protection.

I took the liberty of advising Vinnie that if he wants to keep Rangeman looking after his FTA's that he turn over all, and I mean, all the files to us for the foreseeable future.

You, Stephanie are basically unemployed right now. You cannot pay your bills unless I choose to pay you. You have a choice here.

You can choose to stay and work at Rangeman. You are not to leave the building unless you are accompanied by myself or one of my team. You will submit to whatever shifts Tank decides. That includes monitors. You will not be allowed on surveillance until we get to the bottom of what is going on. You will be allowed to contact your family by phone or if they wish, can visit you at Rangeman in a conference room, but family dinners are out for the foreseeable future.

If you choose to leave the safety of Rangeman to go back to your apartment, you can call someone to come and get you. You are free to go and I will not stop you. You will however, leave your ID, key fob and Rangeman weapon in the kitchen on the way out. Your choice, Stephanie."

Ranger got up and walked out of the apartment. He closed the door and Stephanie was left sitting in the empty room.

~~~o0o~~~

There was another meeting across town.

"The mark got away from her bodyguards and was wandering around town until they picked her up again. This proves that she is vulnerable.

I want one of you to watch her apartment in case she moves back in. There is a possibility that she will be moving back tonight. I do not, and I repeat, do not want anything to happen to her tonight. I want her to get a false sense of confidence that she is safe.

We will meet again tomorrow and I will give you the updated plan.

Now, changing the subject. Did you have any problems with the instructions."

There was a sound of money being counted out.

"Right, here's your cut. Spend it wisely and don't flash it around."

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie sat in the living room thinking about her options. She checked her watch and was surprised that she had been sitting there for over an hour.

She pulled out her phone and pressed a button.

"Daddy, I'm at Rangeman, can you come and get me? Twenty minutes? Thanks, I will be waiting outside."

She walked into the kitchen and deposited the now empty water bottle in the recycling bin. She looked at the trackers and the panic button, deciding what to do.

She walked toward the front door, put on her shoes and grabbed her purse. Stephanie headed to the elevator and pressed the button.

The door opened and she pressed one. The door closed and the elevator moved smoothly down, stopping in the main floor lobby.

Stephanie stepped out and walked to the front door. Frank's cab was just pulling up and she walked out, closing the door softly behind her.

Zip watched as she left. He looked back at the camera. He knew that everyone in the building could see what had just happened.

He shook his head. It appeared she was running again.

Stephanie slipped into the front seat of the cab and Frank pulled away. He didn't speak until they stopped in front of a diner. Frank turned off the engine and opening the door, motioned Stephanie to follow him.

"Let's get a coffee, Pumpkin."

They walked into the diner and Cookie was standing at the counter serving a customer.

Frank guided Stephanie to a booth in the back. He motioned for coffee and pointed at what was sitting under a see-through dome by the cash register, holding up two fingers.

Cookie nodded.

Frank sat down in his favorite spot and Stephanie joined him.

They said nothing as the coffee and cake were delivered. Old habits die hard and in the Plum family, you eat, then you talk.

Today it was carrot cake, Frank's second favorite. He looked at Stephanie. She was only toying with the cake, her fork making designs in the cream cheese frosting.

He let her think. Ranger had contacted him asking where she might have gone to and he was smart enough to figure out that she was in trouble once again. Ranger had barely held on to his temper as he spoke on the phone, politely requesting that if she showed up at the house to let him know.

Stephanie put down her fork, the cake untouched.

Frank also put down his fork.

Stephanie spoke.

"I needed to get away to think, and Lula and Connie helped me. Lula was waiting out the back of the bond office and I snuck out the back door when Ranger was busy talking to Vinnie and we took off out of town for lunch. I hadn't seen her for awhile and we caught up on what was happening with her and Tank.

I don't know who is stalking me this time. Nothing has really been stated, no evil notes, no dead flowers, no more phone calls after that one night. I almost think I dreamt that call, but Ranger was there when it came in. He wanted to lock me away in Rangeman. I don't have a car and I don't think he wanted to lend me one. He drove me around where I needed to go today.

Daddy, I know he meant well, but he basically told me that I had to check with him and accept a shadow even going to lunch with a friend.

I had to get away. Every word he spoke just drove another nail in saying that my life is not my own. I need to be free, Daddy. I'll crumble in a locked cage."

Stephanie tried to hold back a sniffle.

"What I regret most though, Daddy is that Ranger is disappointed in me. He has always been my rock. I think I may have lost his support and that hurts most of all."

Stephanie stopped talking. Frank could see a tear glisten by a tear duct and begin its journey down her cheek.

"He was waiting for me when Lula dropped me off back at Rangeman. Ranger gave me an ultimatum that will take away any freedom that I have right now.

He threatened Vinnie that if they give me any files, Rangeman will back away and leave them without anybody to take on the higher bonds, which will put Vinnie out of business.

He says he is sending me a bill for the cost of pulling in contract workers while the rest of them were looking for me. Daddy, I can't afford any kind of a bill. I will be in debt to him for months from the sounds of it.

I am hanging on only by my fingernails now only paying my rent and bills.

I can barely even feed Rex."

Frank looked at his youngest daughter. What he loved about her the most was her never-say-die attitude toward life and her upbeat outlook. Right now, he saw a mentally beaten down person who had lost her way.

He thought out his next move. This was one of those life altering decisions that would change the path in her life. He treaded carefully as he spoke.

"I will not lie but Ranger did contact me when you disappeared from the bond office with Lula. While it was not one of your finer moments to leave and drop the trackers and panic button at the office, I know you, and of your need to get away from the glare of constant observation for a while. I tried to explain that to Ranger that you used to do that as a child.

Your mother and I used to worry about what might have happened but Edna seemed to always have an inside track on where we could locate you if need be, but after you had figured out what was bothering you, you always came home on your own."

He looked at her. He remembered that she had disappeared, then, after she had worked out whatever was bothering her to her satisfaction in her mind, had always reappeared back at home. She had not gone to Mary Lou's, her best friend, or the tree house in the back yard, her second favorite place to play.

Helen had wrung her hands in consternation, not understanding her youngest daughter at all. When Stephanie had returned, she had been instantly grounded with no time to explain why she needed to get away or what was bothering her.

Frank could tell that right now she was a troubled young woman. Her life had had its ups and downs, but as she was generally an upbeat person, she had made it her own. She was never destined to immerse herself in the normal Burg way of life.

Old habits die hard, and she had done the same thing as she had done years before.

He regretted that he had not stepped in and stopped Helen years ago from browbeating Stephanie. He had, instead, held his tongue choosing to believe that mothers did a better job raising daughters and that it all would work out in the end. He too knew where Denial Land was.

Frank looked at it in a different light. Whether Stephanie recognized it or not, her life now was at Rangeman and to anybody else it was only a destination, but to Stephanie it was now her safe home base.

Unfortunately she was feeling that she had let Ranger down. She had always looked to him for support, reassurance and confirmation that she was on the right track with respect to her life.

They sat in the corner drinking coffee. Stephanie ate her cake and Frank finished his.

Cookie seemed to know that it was pretty serious and he left them alone except when Frank motioned for more coffee.

Stephanie sighed.

"I do love him, Daddy, but he doesn't want a relationship. He keeps saying his life is full of danger, but I only see him saving me time and time again.

Whenever something bad happens to me, his first thought is to hide me away at Rangeman or a safe house.

I am a big girl, Daddy. I want to help, not feel powerless and unable to help solve what is going on."

She had now taken the paper napkin and rolled and unrolled it.

She looked up at her dad. He had always been there for her. He was the quiet type, but he was observant and he had always been the steadying influence in her life. She had always been a 'Daddy's Girl' and probably always would.

Frank noticed a black Porsche drive slowly past the window. He was under no illusions who might be in that vehicle. Stephanie's back was to the window and she appeared to have no idea what was happening.

He schooled his face as he had been taught so many years ago.

He suspected that that was Ranger's way to let him know he was near. Like it or not, he was still protecting her, even now.

Frank spoke.

"You did give everyone quite a scare earlier. I suspect that by now everyone will be much calmer and hopefully willing to listen to your reasons if you spell them out clearly.

But, you really do need to give them some reason to continue to care for you. Honey, your flight versus fight tendency puts everyone either in danger or on edge. These men have been trained to meet challenges head on and so far all they see is denial and excuses."

He looked at her.

"So, what is the plan, Stephanie."

She flinched at her dad using her full name.

Stephanie picked up her purse and opened it up. She took out the trackers and the panic button and put them on the table.

Frank smiled.

After everything that had been said and done, she had still chosen Rangeman.

She had made her decision before she had left. She just needed to work it out in her own mind.

He was still worried about her mental status. It looked to him like she was giving up, that she was going through the motions, that she was allowing someone to dictate her life.

He sighed. Helen had never broken her spirit, but it appeared that Ranger might have.

Frank pulled out his phone and pressed a button.

"I think you should come in and pick up a pie."

He hung up and put the phone in his pocket.

Frank stood up and walked around to Stephanie then gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

"I have a fare to pick up. I will see you later, Pumpkin."

With that he dropped some bills on the table and walked out the door, waving at Cookie.

Ranger was walking to the diner door and shook hands with Frank on the way past. Ranger thought Frank looked a little sad as he climbed into his cab.

He slipped through the door before it closed and walked down to the back of the diner.

Cookie looked at him and he shook his head no. Cookie nodded, turned around and walked into the back.

Ranger sat down on the booth seat then slid around until his back was against the wall.

He spied the trackers and the panic button on the table. He knew that they had disappeared from the counter in his apartment. His fingers had itched to access the information on his computer but had stilled his efforts. It was her decision and her life. He had done all he could and the ball was solidly in her court. He had also noticed that her Rangeman ID, fob and weapon were not on the counter.

He, along with probably everyone at Rangeman had watched as Stephanie left the building and climbed into the cab. He could have heard a pin drop in the control room, then a few expletives as the men realized what appeared to have transpired. She was running away, again.

Frank had phoned Ranger that he was picking up Stephanie. He would let him know how it went later, and to leave them alone until he let him know one way or another what was happening.

Stephanie sipped her coffee.

She spoke softly. "I just can't change who I am Ranger."

She sighed.

"At the same time, it was a stupid thing to do, but you gotta admit, my friends know me. Lula could have been sitting out there then see me drive away with you. Connie didn't need to let me know that Vinnie wanted to talk to you. They know me enough that when I am feeling like I am boxed in with no options I either go rhino and lose my temper or I walk away and go off and cool down and think about the whole situation."

Ranger smiled to himself. She had great friends.

Stephanie stood up.

"I need to pack up some clothes and if you will allow me back in the building, I'm willing to stay there until it is safe. I want to pick up Rex. He needs a change in scenery, and he misses Ella. I have a debt to repay."

Ranger thought about it. She had chosen Rangeman, but had he lost her?

He guided her to the car and helped her to put on the seatbelt. He walked around to the driver's side and slid in.

Ranger pulled away. He headed to her apartment.

Ranger pulled up to the open spot at the back door and parked. Stephanie noticed a black Escape sitting in the parking lot. She wondered how long it had been there. They exited the car just as two men stepped out of the SUV. Ranger nodded and one reached into the back and pulled out some flattened moving boxes. Manny and Zero fell into step behind them and they headed for the building.

They walked in and waited for the elevator.

Mrs. Bestler was once again manning the elevator and she pressed two without prompting. Her voice was still not strong due to her lingering cold, and she was coughing slightly.

Stephanie silently held out her keys and Ranger took them, unlocking the apartment door, watching as she waited for him to signal it was safe.

Stephanie looked at the guys. How did they know to meet them there. She had not seen Ranger phone anyone and she was pretty sure that she had not seen anyone tailing them.

Manny gave her a hug. "Welcome back, wifey. I knew you couldn't stay away from me for long. I would have missed you. We were hoping that you would choose to work with us again."

Ranger growled and Manny laughed, but he took his arm from around her shoulder. Zero nodded at her but didn't smile. Stephanie remembered that come to think about it, he had never smiled.

They walked in and Stephanie looked around. What should she take?

Zero picked up Rex and his aquarium from the kitchen and put him near the door. Manny had taped then handed her a box and Stephanie went into her bedroom to pack what she needed. She came out with one box and grabbing another headed back in.

The men trooped down the stairs carrying the boxes and Rex. Stephanie looked at her apartment door as she locked it. She suspected that when her lease was up, she would not be returning. It would be the end of a period in her life. Her only question was, where would she go?

Nobody noticed the man hiding in the shadows by the dumpster, watching.


	9. Chapter 9

**JE owns these amazing characters. I just wish they were also meteorologists so they could forecast this winter out of here!**

Chapter 9

The drive back to Rangeman was made in silence. Stephanie was deep in thought and shook herself to bring herself back to the present. The Escape pulled in behind them down the ramp into the garage.

Stephanie climbed out of the Turbo. She turned to Ranger and spoke.

"If there is an open apartment on four, I would prefer to stay there, Ranger. I don't want to cramp your style. Rex is not the complaining type and I don't need much."

Ranger schooled his feelings.

"There will be one available in a couple of days if you want. Woody found a new place and he and his girlfriend are moving in after his shift ends tomorrow. Until then, I guess you are stuck on seven with me."

It was made as a joke, but he could see right away that she had taken it the wrong way.

Stephanie was trying to keep her face blank. She didn't want to be underfoot in any way. She nodded in surrender.

Manny and Zero dropped the boxes and Rex at the front door on seven and headed downstairs.

They could already see that this was not going to be a match made in heaven. Unfortunately, she did not want to be there. Well, those two would have to work it out.

Stephanie had lost her spark that made her who she was. She was making all the right moves but there was something missing.

She walked out of the bedroom dressed in her Rangeman uniform. Ranger was in the kitchen. She headed for the door but Ranger called to her. She stopped and turned with a questioning look.

"I asked Ella to have supper here for 1800, Babe."

Stephanie nodded that she heard.

"I need to check with Tank and get my schedule set up. If I'm off, I will be here. I don't want to put you to any trouble keeping the food warm."

She headed for the door and walked out, closing it softly.

Ranger walked into the bedroom. She had put the boxes in the back of the closet, and he noticed that the hangers still hung empty. He looked in the drawers left for her use and noticed that they were also empty. The clothes she had worn were neatly folded on top of one of the boxes. He hoped it was because she thought her current living situation was only temporary.

~~~o0o~~~

The meeting convened once again.

"Report", came the command.

The man spoke up.

"It appears that she has moved or been moved from her apartment. She had two boxes and an aquarium. I would say that it is not a happy situation from the look on her face, but I could be wrong."

There was silence. Then.

"She has a flight mentality. Keep an eye out. If she escaped once, she might again."

There was a rustling of papers.

"Now, to the business at hand. Business is up. The clients are happy. It's time to ramp up."

There was an excited murmur.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie stopped at Tank's door. She knocked softly and waited for permission to enter. Tank's voice boomed 'Enter' and dutifully Stephanie turned the knob and opened the door. She walked in and stood in front of his desk.

He was sitting behind piles of paper which were threatening to slide together into one big heap on the desk. It was a depressing sight.

Tank put down his pen. He looked at Stephanie and mentally shook his head. She straight up didn't look like her usual self. He considered his next words carefully.

"What's the plan, Little One?"

She shrugged her shoulders only confirming his suspicions.

"I'm here to find out my schedule, Tank. I can start now if you want."

He looked down. There were a multitude of places he could put her, but he wanted to and felt the need to keep an eye on her.

"I know your typing speed is good and you are very careful. If I get you a desk closer to me, you can work on some of these reports and finish them so that we can file them away."

She shrugged her shoulders. At least it was not monitors. She hated monitors, but right now beggars cannot be choosers. She had a debt to pay back and she figured it would be a big one after her last caper.

Tank stood up and taking her by the elbow with one hand, and holding a handful of folders in the other, guided her out the door to a cubicle near to his and Ranger's office. Stephanie tried not to squirm out of his hold.

She looked at him but didn't comment. It appeared that she had even lost her cubicle in with the men and Tank wanted to keep an eye on her.

"You have done these before. If you have any questions, my door is open."

He patted her shoulder and strode away.

She sighed and sat down.

Stephanie pulled the first file to her and began to work.

Eighteen hundred arrived and Ranger heard Stephanie step into the apartment. He called out that he was in the kitchen.

She walked into the kitchen and sat down on a stool.

Ranger tried to make conversation.

"Tank told me that you were helping to get his desk in order. He's a big boy and should be prepared to clean up his own mess."

He said it in a joking manner, but Stephanie cringed. Now she had gotten Tank in trouble.

Ranger tried again.

"I could hear the guys talking in the break room about you decorating last year for St. Patrick's Day and asking Ella to serve green Koolaid. They wanted to know if she would make them green sugar cookies too this year."

Stephanie looked down. It was another one of her favorite holidays and she had enjoyed picking up and decorating with the streamers. Unfortunately, being broke and locked in the building she would be unable to buy anything this year. She shrugged in indifference.

Ranger was serving up supper and put her plate in front of her. As usual, Ella had made something delicious, which should have triggered Stephanie's taste buds in anticipation.

She looked at the plate full of food. Ella had prepared it and Stephanie knew that it would probably be delicious, but the thought of food right now was not very appealing. Dutifully she picked up her fork and played in the vegetables. She took a few bites and pushed it aside. She was not hungry.

She looked at Ranger.

"I'd really like to take a shower, if that's OK with you. I feel a bit grubby."

She waited for what looked like permission.

Ranger nodded and she stood up and walked out of the room. He could hear her rummaging around in the closet and then the bathroom door closed softly.

Dios, what a clusterfuck! She had barely touched her meal and hadn't even noticed that Ella had provided dessert for her.

Ranger cleared off the table and walked into the living room. He had heard the shower turn off. Mentally he had kept time on his watch. Stephanie loved his shower, but had barely spent any time in it, almost as if she was conserving water.

He looked at the tv and pondered his next move. He strode over to the wall with all the DVD's in it and pulled out a brand new copy of Ghostbusters. He laid it on the coffee table and waited.

Stephanie walked out in a pair of yoga pants and a stretchy t-shirt. Her hair was only damp which meant that she had not taken the time to wash it. It was still tied back with a scrunchie.

He noticed from his chair that she hesitated before coming into the living room. His first thought was to pretend that he had a call downstairs and leave her alone, but his other thought was that he should be there. He couldn't put his finger on it. She seemed so off.

He had had soldiers head into depression from everything from a Dear John letter to a sudden death in the family. He had always made sure that his man had not been alone to wallow in their sorrow, and he felt that although there might not be any conversation, he would be there if she wanted to talk.

Unfortunately, at that moment, his phone rang in his pocket.

Ranger grimaced. Bad timing.

He opened the phone and barked, "Report", which made Stephanie jump. How many times had he answered his phone with her near. Never had she reacted that way before.

Ranger listened then hung up. He looked at Stephanie. She had taken a seat on the couch, and was curled up in the corner, almost in defense mode. Her arms were holding her knees close to her. This was not a good time to get that call.

"Babe, we just got an alarm at a client's business and I have to go. I can call Ella and she can come up and hang out with you."

Stephanie shook her head no. This was Ella's busy time, in the evening. She would be preparing for the evening shift to have supper. She didn't want to have her drop everything. Besides, what would they do? She didn't feel like doing anything right now. It had been a tiring day.

"Ella's busy right now, Ranger. I would never want to take her away. If it's OK, I'll just sit here. I had a long day and my back hurts."

Ranger stood up. He walked over to the couch. He could almost see Stephanie crouch down even lower, wondering what he was going to do. He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss in her hair.

"I can call Bobby and he can bring you up something." He had his phone out watching her reaction.

Stephanie shook her head no. "No, don't bother him. It will probably go away pretty soon."

His next thought was to take her with him and she could stay in one of the vehicles. Unfortunately, that took her out of the safety of Rangeman and he dismissed the idea. He would check out the scene and leave Tank in charge to finish up. He could hop a ride back in one of the other vehicles. Ranger wanted to be back in less than an hour.

He headed to the hall, put on his boots, picked up his keys and walked out the door. Ranger thought about calling Bobby, but he was still at the hospital with Les He hoped to be back soon.

Stephanie pulled the gaily decorated quilt from the back of the couch and covered herself up. The movie lay untouched on the coffee table.

Ranger let himself into his apartment. It was late. Unfortunately, the punk kids who had broken in had done considerable damage in the short time they had been inside before Rangeman had shown up. They had taken baseball bats to the glass counters, smashing with almost reckless abandon.

By the time the police had left with their captures, and the owner had arranged for a clean-up crew to arrive, it was now almost midnight.

Tank had had to leave to head to another alarm, leaving Ranger without his vehicle. It had turned out to be a false alarm as the owner had not pressed in the right code, but by the time he had gone and come back, considerable time had passed.

Tank and Ranger had spoken on the way back to Haywood.

"How's Little Girl?" Tank cut right to the chase.

He had observed her through his open door working diligently. She had put through an amazing amount of work in a short period of time, stopping only for one washroom break and a quick trip for a bottle of water. No food, no granola bar, no fruit. Just water.

He too had observed how loose her clothing was sitting on her tiny frame. Ella had carefully outfitted Stephanie with her uniforms and they now hung on her. He surmised that since she had probably not eaten well, or possibly not much at all for a number of days prior to whatever she had consumed at Rangeman that her stomach would have issues with a lot of food for awhile.

Unfortunately it was her spirit, and her drive, and her enthusiasm. The men had stopped by to chat, but she had only a few words for each. Polite, but withdrawn. The men had taken the hint and had left her alone.

Ranger sighed, which surprised them both. Ranger never sighed.

He too had noticed her working in the office. He had originally thought that by putting Stephanie close to their offices they would save her making the trip so that she could walk back and forth to the offices to save time. He had not thought that she might take it the wrong way.

He wondered if she was watching Ghostbusters, her all time favorite go-to movie. She watched it when she was happy, when she was heartbroken at another breakup with Morelli, or even when she was trying to be brave. Ranger so very much hoped that the plastic would be off the movie when he came back.

He didn't even want to consider that she might fore go his bed with the 1000 count sheets as she liked to think of them. Damn, there had been a quilt on the back of the couch. If she was feeling the way he suspected, she would probably just pull it over her and curl up.

Should he move her to his bed when he returned? Her back would complain being scrunched up all night unable to stretch out?

Ranger pulled out his phone. He pressed the number for Bobby and it was answered in one ring.

"Did Stephanie phone you for some pain relief? She mentioned that her back was bothering her tonight. No, we are heading back and I will let you know if she needs something."

Ranger hung up and tapped the phone softly against his chin in thought.

Tank sighed. Hey, what was going on here? Neither of them usually sighed. Yeah, they were both worried about the same thing.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As Ranger suspected, Stephanie had fallen asleep on the couch. He looked at the coffee table and noted the unopened copy of Ghostbusters laying there.

Her face was scrunched up and it looked like she was grimacing in pain.

Ranger moved silently over to the couch. He was about to pick her up when her eyes opened wide and she jumped.

"I was going to take you to the bed. You look like you are in pain and sleeping on the couch like that you will be even more stiff tomorrow."

Stephanie shook her head.

"I'm fine here, Ranger. I think I was having a bad dream. I'm fine now, but thanks for your concern."

She had gripped the comforter around her even more.

Ranger could see that it was going to be a losing battle. He kissed her on the head and backed up.

"If you change your mind, Babe..."

She snuggled back down and closed her eyes again, pretending to go back to sleep.

Ranger shrugged and headed into the bedroom. He took a quick shower and pulled on a pair of boxers before climbing into his extra large bed. He lay for a long time on his back, his fingers clasped behind his head looking at the ceiling. He could hear her groan softly as she shifted positions a few times through the night.

His alarm rang at five, his usual waking time.

He climbed out of bed and tiptoed to the door, checking to see how she was.

The comforter was back on the back of the couch and her shoes were missing from the entrance way. Ranger walked to his office and brought up the cameras. He could see her already hard at work.

~~~o0o~~~

She received a phone call.

"The shipment has arrived. Meet at the usual place."

The line went dead.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger stepped onto five. He had finished his usual morning exercise routine and was looking freshly showered and ready for work. He stopped in at the break room and grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee before heading to his office.

He noticed that there was a large pile of finished reports waiting for a signature. He looked through them quickly then signed them, picked them all up and walked out the door to take them to Tank's office for dispersal.

Stephanie was just leaving his office and he smiled at her. She seemed calmer today and he could only hope that her normal outlook on life was making a comeback. That was, until she saw him and lowered her eyes. She sidestepped him on the way back to her cubicle but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"I have to go out today on some errands, Babe. Would you like to go for lunch with me later?"

She looked down at the files in her hands and shook her head.

"I have a lot of work I want to get done today, Ranger. If that is OK, I will just stay in and get it done. Tank is finally getting caught up and he scheduled me for monitors this afternoon."

She slid past him and headed back to her cubicle, placing the folders on the side of her desk and sitting down in the chair. She bent over the first file and started to work.

Ranger watched her work for a minute then headed into Tank's office, closing the door behind him.

He put the completed files in Tank's in-box and sat down.

Tank looked at Ranger then the files.

"I found her at work when I came in this morning. I think she must have been here half the night completing this stuff. I told her to take off at lunchtime, but she begged me for more work. I could only think of monitors, and put her on a half shift."

Ranger looked at his friend. Stephanie was taking his threat of a bill very, very seriously and it looked like she was planning on working day and night until she felt it was paid back.

He suspected that at the end of her shift, she would be preparing to move what little stuff she had brought with her and Rex to the now open apartment on four.

Tank spoke.

"I had to tell Stephanie that Woody was delayed in moving out. Something came up with the apartment they are moving into, and he has to wait. She just nodded and walked out, Ranger."

Ranger secretly pumped his fist, but his face remained calm. He would be able to keep his eye on her for a couple more days. He was getting really concerned. This was not the Stephanie they all knew and loved.

They got to work planning the installations and the client meetings for the rest of the week. As Stephanie had said, Tank was almost caught up. His desk was looking better and it appeared that she was more than giving quality time to Rangeman.

Ranger stood up. He stretched and tried to loosen some tight muscles. He had taken a bit more time on some of the machines and wanted to stretch out.

Tank was watching his friend. He knew that Ranger was unsure of his next move. When it came to Stephanie, there was no instruction book.

He watched as Ranger walked out the door and hesitated as he watched Stephanie hard at work. He continued to his office and Tank could hear his office door close softly. Tank shook his head and pulled a file to him. He hoped that the old saying that 'time heals' was appropriate for this scenario.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger called Frank on his cell phone.

Frank could see the number come up and already he had guessed what had happened.

"Hello, Ranger."

Ranger cut right to the chase.

"Frank, I could use a little advice here," said Ranger.

Frank sighed. Unfortunately, Stephanie had always done this too after taking off. She would retreat into her shell and try not to create any waves. Even so many years ago, time had always been the best medicine.

"Ranger, I was expecting your phone call, and unfortunately I knew what you are going to tell me. Let it go for a few days. If she does not snap out of it, call Edna. Those two have a special rapport. I sometimes swear that Stephanie is a re-incarnation of Edna fifty years later. If anyone can bring her out, it will be Edna."

Ranger thanked him for his advice and hung up.

Ranger thought about it. He looked at his calendar, mentally calculating that in five days it would be St. Patrick's Day, the day everyone near and far became an honorary Irishman and wore green.

He remembered that last year she had decorated her cubicle with green shamrocks and streamers in celebration. She had had Ella provide green sugar free Koolaid and green tea for those too cool to partake of the children's drink.

Stephanie had hidden some green decorated sugar cookies in her desk and had munched them when she thought Tank and I had not seen her. Nobody let on that she had been walking around all day with green flecks on the sides of her mouth.

If she had not snapped back by St. Pattie's Day, he would call Edna.

Each day was turning out the same. Stephanie refused to sleep in Ranger's bedroom, preferring to stay on the couch. By the time Ranger woke up, she was already gone.

He noticed that each evening she took the clothes for the next day and laid them on the arm of the couch, and showered downstairs before work. She would hang a note on the door and the men respected her privacy in their locker room. She never took long, not wanting to put them out more than was absolutely necessary.

She ate in the break room both morning and lunch and would have for supper too, but Ranger stopped each afternoon and mentioned that he had asked Ella to have supper ready for 1800. She nodded she had heard and dutifully arrived just minutes before it was delivered.

She ate just enough that he could not call her on it or order her to see Bobby.

She was putting through an amazing amount of work at Rangeman, but the atmosphere was totally businesslike. She didn't joke, or engage in unnecessary conversation. She made excuses to any attempts by Ranger to take her out of the building. All she did was work.

Evenings were painful in the apartment. She showed no interest in watching anything, but would dutifully sit on the couch and watch what Ranger put on.

Every evening, he waited to see if the pattern changed. It was almost like she was counting down on her imaginary calendar waiting to move down to four, but she did not pester either Tank or Woody.

Morning arrived and he was at his desk with the door closed. Ranger looked at his watch and figured that the Plum household was up. He placed the call and waited to see who would answer.

Edna picked up the phone. "It's your dime," she said in her warbly voice.

Ranger cut right to the chase. "Good morning Edna. Ranger Manoso speaking. Frank said that you might be able to help me with Stephanie."

He could hear Edna telling Helen it was for her. He could hear her walking to another room and closing the door.

She came on the line again.

"Frank gave me a heads up you might be phoning."

Ranger nodded then acknowledged over the phone. "Everyone has noticed the radical change in her. We miss the old Stephanie. We are not used to this version of her. She doesn't smile, she doesn't joke, she asks permission for the smallest things. She does not offer an opinion on anything, and just politely thanks everyone for everything. Quite frankly, Edna, this is a person in this building we do not recognize at all and I am wondering if there is something you can suggest or offer to bring her out of this situation."

Edna thought about it for a moment.

"I am assuming you have tempted her with food and that didn't work. When she did this before, she usually lost her appetite and started to lose weight."

Ranger was sitting at his desk with a pen and paper handy. His memory was excellent, but he was taking no chances. If Edna had any idea what he could try, he would move heaven and earth to do it.

Edna spoke again. "Sometimes we could get her heading back to normal by bringing Mary Lou over, but lately they have been drifting apart. Mary Lou is busy with year-end at her husband's business and I know that Stephanie knows that. Any other time and that might have worked. Maybe you could contact Lula. They partnered from the bond office and after what Lula went through, she feels very anxious to keep Stephanie as a dear friend."

Ranger marked that down. He could call Lula and maybe have her phone Stephanie and offer to come to Rangeman. He would give them a conference room and order that the audio and video be cut. If Lula wanted to, he would allow whatever food she deemed appropriate be brought in, or have Ella make something special.

He listened as Edna continued.

"Unfortunately, when she did this as a child, Helen would not even listen to why, but immediately grounded her for days at a time. She then dictated what options she had within the house. That was usually about the time that little Stephanie would shut down and meekly obey any orders or veiled suggestions. She did not want to rock the boat anymore. Finally, just about the time she was released from whatever had been ordered, her positive attitude started to shine again. Stephanie cannot stay down for long. It's not in her make-up. The moment you see the first sign of a smile means that she is coming back to us."

Ranger nodded.

"Thanks Edna, you have spelled it out very well. I will give Lula a call and check her schedule. Hopefully she can move things around to get the ball rolling here.

We all miss her bubbly attitude.

As a matter of fact, we were hoping to see a repeat of her St. Patrick's Day attitude. Maybe I can convince Lula to bring something to cheer her up."

Edna moved her dentures around in her mouth before answering.

"You take care of my baby granddaughter. If Lula can't knock her out of her mood, give me a call again and I can come over. Frank can drive me, or maybe you can send a couple of your men to escort me. I think that I would need extra close escorting though so pick a couple of good ones for me."

With that, she hung up.

Ranger stood shaken. He fervently hoped that he would not have to resort to Edna coming. His men would demand double danger pay.

He thought about what Edna had said about Helen dictating options and rules. He silently grimaced that he had done exactly the same thing telling her his rules.

In his defense he was only trying to keep her safe, but at the same time, he had not taken into account that she had that amazing ability to sense danger and get out of the way. He might have been a bit harsh on parameters.

Ranger looked at his watch and placed a call to the bond office. It was late enough that Lula might be in. Connie picked up on the second ring. "Vincent Plum Bonds, Connie speaking", came over the line.

"Connie, this is Ranger Manoso. By any chance is Lula there and if so, could I speak with her, please?"

Ranger could hear Connie call to Lula.

"Would you hold the phone a minute, Ranger. Lula is in the filing room."

Ranger could hear Lula complaining that a woman as big and beautiful as she had trouble moving fast and to get a grip.

Lula's slightly breathless voice came over the phone. "Hello."

Ranger could hear her clear her throat. He spoke.

"I am sorry to bother you Lula, but I am a bit worried about Stephanie. She is acting a bit down and I was wondering if you would do me a huge favor and maybe call her on her cell and offer to bring over something to eat and stay for a visit. We can set you up in a small conference room and cut all the feeds while you are here."

Lula cleared her throat. "What did you do to my friend? She owned up to taking off, and if anybody should get the blame it should be me. I drove her and picked the diner. She asked me to bring her back to the building and I gave her all kinds of options."

Lula had switched into rhino mode in just a few sentences. Edna was right. She was ready to protect her friend against anyone, even Ranger.

Ranger cleared his throat.

"I understand your reasoning and we already discussed the ramifications. She scared us with the fact that we could not find her and with the threat against her hanging over all our heads were trying to keep her safe.

If I could, could I impose on you to help us out here? I think she needs a dose of 'happy' as she calls it and I hope that you are just the right person to deliver it."

There was silence on the line. Ranger was holding his breath.

Finally Lula came to a decision.

"I'mma going to call her and ask if she wants company. I will try to sway her with something from the Tasty Bakery or Pino's. Failing that, I will try to persuade her by saying that I need someone to talk to about something. I hope that that works, because that's all I got unless I try to break in there and steal her away and I don't think that will work too well."

Ranger smiled. Lula was certainly a force to be reckoned with. He hoped she would succeed.

"Just a bit of a warning, Lula. She is feeling the need to ask myself or Tank for permission to do anything, so be prepared for her to call you back, or put you on hold."

Lula muttered over the phone. "You guys really know how to screw people up, don't you."

She hummed and hawed. "I got to think how to do this. I figure I got one-shot to make it work. I'll let you know how it goes."

She hung up without another word.


	11. Chapter 11

**Yes, yes, yes. I keep forgetting to add that these characters belong to Janet Evanovich.**

Chapter 11

Ranger worked in his office with his door open. He was waiting for the special ring on Stephanie's phone to advise her that Lula was on the line.

He heard the distinctive tone that signalled that Lula was calling. He could hear Stephanie move her chair and stand up. She was walking to the washroom to speak in private.

He waited impatiently for her footsteps to return. He wondered who she would ask: Tank or himself. He had already briefed Tank on what might happen, hopefully.

Stephanie returned to her desk. She sat there pondering her move. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she made a decision.

He crossed his fingers hoping she would choose him. He looked down. He had not done that in so many years. What a childish gesture, but right now he needed all the help he could get.

Stephanie stood up and walked toward Tank's office. Ranger's fingers uncrossed. She had chosen to ask Tank. She had chosen who she thought would give her permission. He could feel his heart thud in disappointment.

She stopped. Tank's phone was ringing and he had picked it up.

Stephanie pondered her next move. Should she wait, or should she ask Ranger. Lula was waiting for an answer.

She turned slightly and advanced to his door hesitantly.

He was working at his desk and looked up at her timid knock.

"Hey, Babe, you need to see me?" came out of his mouth. Damn, it sounded like she was bothering him, even to his ears.

Stephanie stepped into the office.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Ranger but Lula called me, and wanted to know if she could bring some lunch with her to share with me, since I haven't been to the office. She says she needs to talk to me about something. Would it be OK if she came? You said that I could see my family in a conference room, and I was wondering if that included a friend?"

Ranger pondered.

"Sure Babe, check which one is available and we can cut the feeds while you are there. It might be good for you to have a visit with someone. You've been working pretty hard and need a break. Let Vince know; he's on building scheduling this week."

Stephanie murmured a quiet thanks and backed out.

Ranger could see her pull her phone out of her pocket. She was walking to Vince's desk as she spoke.

She at least was willing to see someone. Go Lula!

Her phone buzzed again. Junior was on the desk downstairs and buzzed Stephanie that Lula was there.

Ranger brought up the camera from the lobby. Lula had her arms full of bags of food from Cluck in a Bucket, Pino's and Tasty Bakery. It was a massive amount of food for two people.

He watched as the elevator arrived and Lula stepped in. He changed cameras and watched as Lula stepped off on five. Stephanie was waiting for her and they walked into Conference Room A. It was a much smaller room used to see potential clients. It had a slightly less austere feel and the chairs were rolling types with extra cushioning. The walls were a softer brown and the rug had more of a luxurious feel. There were pictures on the walls and a coffee maker by the door. Stephanie had made a good choice choosing this room.

Ranger phoned the monitoring station.

Lenny, a new hire, answered. "Cut all the feeds from Conference Room A until I say to put it back on."

Lenny's voice spoke. "Sir, yes sir."

Ranger hung up.

~~~o0o~~~

Lula put her bags on the table and turned to Stephanie. Her arms opened and she gave her a hug hello.

Stephanie had never come from a huggy family, but as she was embraced by Lula it felt good.

Lula spoke.

"Missed talking to you, Skinny Girl, and I do mean skinny. You done lost a lot of weight here. While I think of myself as big and beautiful, maybe I could shed a few pounds myself."

Stephanie murmured. "I wouldn't recommend my method, Lula."

They set about taking the food out of the bags and laying them on the table.

They both sat down. The repast in front of them was almost overwhelming. There were meatball subs from Pino's, a large bucket of chicken from Cluck in a Bucket with slaw and fries in carry-out containers, and donuts of almost every color from Tasty Bakery.

Stephanie's stomach growled in anticipation.

Lula waited for her to choose first. Pino's won and Stephanie pulled a meatball sub closer to her. Lula opened up the chicken bucket and grabbed a drummie.

There was only the rustling of paper and at least one smacking of lips for the first few minutes.

Lula had moved on to the slaw and fries. She motioned pouring some on Stephanie's plate but she held up her hand in surrender. Her stomach had shrunk and she was having trouble finishing the first half of the sub.

Finally admitting defeat, she put the remaining piece down on the paper and licked her fingers from the marinara sauce that had oozed out.

Lula was still working her way through the bucket.

Stephanie looked at the donuts sitting in the opened box. Her eyes settled on the green sprinkled one. She had forgotten about St. Patrick's Day which was tomorrow. She looked a bit sad as she thought that last year she had decorated her cubicle and had enlisted Ella's help with green liquids for the guys. She had hoped that maybe this year she could have snuck green desserts onto the floor. She had heard there was such a thing called minty nanaimo squares.

Lula watched her as she stared at the donut.

She put her chicken wing down reluctantly and wiped her fingers on a napkin. Pulling her bag to her she reached in and pulled out a small plastic bag from The Dollar Tree.

"I remembered how you said how much fun you had decorating last year so I thought I would bring you some stuff in case you had run out. She handed the bag to Stephanie and once again picked up her piece of chicken, biting into it. Stephanie did not see Lula watch carefully as she opened the bag.

Inside were streamers and shamrocks, little leprechauns and a flat green top hat on a string. She had included green silly string in a spray can.

Stephanie looked at Lula but she had quickly given her attention to another piece of chicken.

A small smile peeked out.

Stephanie carefully put all the material back in her bag. She would be busy tomorrow, or maybe even later tonight.

They sat back, waiting for their meal to settle.

Stephanie played with the hem of her shirt.

"You said that something was bothering you, Lula. What's wrong?"

Lula put the bony carcass of the chicken breast on her plate. She cleared her throat as if it was hard to speak.

"I told you that I got a side job and the pay was good. As you know, Vinnie cries every time he has to hand over money and I was looking to supplement myself so I could add to my wardrobe or look at a new car.

A friend called me with a favor one afternoon and I had nothing to do so I said yes. He told me that his regular delivery boy was sick and he needed a parts delivery to a business done before business closed that day.

It was easy, I did it and forgot about it till I got another call. Same thing, the delivery boy was busy and he needed another part delivered. I was feeling like one of those in-town couriers. Everyone was polite and I like to drive.

He paid me in cash since he said the HR girl didn't like casual on her payroll.

It was easy stuff at the beginning, and then it started to get a bit more and more. I didn't think that it was wrong, but I'mma starting to think that there is something fishy going on."

Lula stopped. She looked at a donut as if for strength but her fingers never moved toward the box.

"The last two deliveries I was starting to suspect that there might be drugs in there. I think I am being used as a mule, Stephanie. I get the instructions over my phone, pick up a package and deliver it to somewhere. Nobody signs anything and I get cash later, a lot of cash.

I don't know what to do, Steph. He was a friend and I thought I was giving him a hand, but I think he has pulled me into something I want nothing to do with. I thought of leaving town until it blows over and he forgets about me, but I have been reading about people being killed if they talk, or try to leave."

Stephanie sat in stunned silence. This was bad; really, really bad. If Lula got caught she could go to jail for a long time. Possession for the purpose of trafficking. If it came across state lines, the FBI would be involved.

Morelli didn't talk about his work much but he had participated in lots of undercover assignments trying to stop the sale of drugs and he had admitted that lots of mules had been caught and were paying the price in jails and prisons all over the world.

Food was forgotten as they both pondered their next words.

Stephanie spoke first.

"Lula, I know you don't want to hear this but you have to tell someone. If you get caught..." and she couldn't go on.

Lula grunted.

"That's why I'm talking to you. I need a plan here."

Stephanie was wracking her brain. The obvious choice would be Joe, but she wasn't sure she wanted to talk to him. She thought of Ranger, but then she thought of Tank. He would be heartbroken when he heard.

She looked at her friend.

"You need to talk to Joe. I'm sorry Lula, but if you work with the police now, maybe they can help you later. If you wait and it goes down, you could be looking at 20 years!"

Tears sprang to Lula's eyes. She had heard stories of the problems that mules had. She had heard stories about them being sentenced in foreign countries, never to be seen again. She hated that she had ever answered the phone.

They sat silently each in their own thoughts.

Stephanie shuddered. What she was about to suggest rankled against all that she held dear.

She looked at Lula and Lula knew what she was about to say.

"I gotta think about it. Maybe I can just take off and hide somewhere until it calms down. I have some family out west who I have not seen for years."

Stephanie was shaking her head. If she headed out of state, and they found out about her, she would not be dealing just with the local police but state police throughout the country.

"Trust me Lula, I've been learning recently that in the long run running away hasn't helped me at all."

Stephanie pulled out her phone and placed it on the table. Her posture had changed from insecure and downtrodden to alive and alert. She could feel the difference in herself as she spoke.

"I love you, Lula, but if you do not call Joe right now, I will."

Lula looked at her. Stephanie had morphed almost in front of her eyes.

She slowly pulled her phone out of her ample cleavage and placed it on the table, hoping that it would somehow go away. Stephanie watched her and she shuddered, then picked up the phone.

She dialed the number and waited.

Stephanie could hear the ringing of the phone then the connection.

"Morelli".


	12. Chapter 12

**All recognizable characters are Janet Evanovich's. Gabriel is mine.**

Chapter 12

Joe was in the middle of a meeting. He looked at the display as his phone vibrated. It was Lula's number that came up on the display.

He flipped it open as he walked out the door to the hallway, closing the door behind him. Lula never called unless it was important.

He knew that she used to call him Officer Hottie when the ladies had been discussing him in the bond office. He worked hard to keep his body like it was. He used the police department gym and ran outside whenever he could, sometimes taking Bob, sometimes not. Bob was more of a chick magnet than he cared to admit but if it got him a second look, well...

He spoke.

"Morelli".

There was silence on the line and he looked at the display to see if he had been cut off. No, it was still showing as connected. He spoke into his phone.

"Lula, is that you?"

He could hear someone clear their throat in what appeared to be hesitation, then Lula came on the line.

"Officer Morelli, I would like to make an appointment to see you. I don't want to see you at the station (really?), but I think it is important enough that time may be an issue here."

Joe looked at the wall across from where he was leaning. It sounded very serious and Lula sounded almost, well, almost scared.

"Where do you want to meet and how soon?"

Lula mulled it over.

I know a diner out of town, called 'Good Eats'. It is on the northeast corner of 88th and Bellington. How about I meet you there in about an hour? I will be parking in the back and there is a back door to access the diner."

Joe nodded his head. He knew about it. They served really good minute steak.

"I will see you there, Lula."

He almost said, 'don't worry', but for some reason, he didn't. Stephanie had her spidey sense, but Joe had been a police officer too long not to have his own built-in feeling. Something was really off.

He walked back into the meeting as it was just finishing up. Gabriel Morrison, who was partnered with him for this operation was FBI from the New York office and was here representing the Bureau. A member had been killed in the line of duty and they wanted in on the operation. When they had met for the first time, Joe had asked if he ever answered to Gabe and the look of horror was evident immediately. It appeared that he answered to Gabriel and only Gabriel.

He handed Joe the stack of papers that had been handed out while Joe was out of the room.

On it was the timetable of events up to now. They were planning their next moves.

There was a new player in the area supplying and delivering high end drugs to clients in and around Trenton. To date it had been small deliveries, but word on the street was that it was starting to ramp up.

DEA was also involved and was currently tracking a shipment. They wanted a fast conclusion and were prepared to make a full sweep of all the participants. They were out for blood, as the saying went. They wanted the word on the street to say that once this was concluded to a satisfactory state that nobody should be willing to take on the openings that were about to occur.

Joe looked at his watch. He had just enough time to get to the appointment. He checked with Gabriel and made plans to meet later to delve further into the case.

Joe pulled out from the lot and sped south. He contemplated using his lights and siren, but stilled his efforts. If Lula heard him coming she might take off in the other direction leaving him to wonder and worry what the problem was.

He concluded that it must be associated with Stephanie. They had not seen each other since that last grisly episode, and Joe figured that if his mother needed someone to pick up her order at Giovanni's, she better phone Mooch from now on.

He pulled in and noticed the parking lot was empty. He drove around to the back and saw Lula's firebird sitting near the back door.

Joe climbed out and walked to the door, opening it. He spied her sitting in a corner. She looked... he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was close to almost defeated. Lula was never defeated so it didn't bode well.

Joe walked to the booth and Lula looked up. Yup, there was something really, really wrong.

Her face had that haggard and sallow look of someone at the end of their rope.

Joe sat down.

There was a coffee carafe on the table and he took the time to pour himself a cup and add in milk and sugar, stirring it round and round. He used it as a time waster to see if she would begin to pull herself together.

Lula looked at Joe. She had her hands cupped around the mug and was gripping it so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

Joe couldn't help it.

"Lula, what's wrong. Is it about Stephanie?"

Lula looked at him and burst into tears.

He sat there waiting for her to calm down. As a police officer he had had to deal with people from all walks of life who cried. They cried because they were scared, were hurt, or were in a situation so bad that they had no idea how to extricate themselves.

Lula finally stopped her tears. She hiccuped a few times then looked at him.

"I spoke to Stephanie and she suggested strongly that I contact you. In fact, she said if I didn't, she would."

Joe smiled a little. His Cupcake may hate him for his wandering, but he knew she loved him deep down. They just had too much of a history to not have some feelings for each other.

He hoped that she would forgive him in time and they could get back together. He missed her.

She drew on some inner strength and continued.

"I think that I may have broken the law and I don't know what to do about it."

She looked at him to gauge his reaction to that point.

Joe put on his cop face and gave a hand motion for her to continue.

"I helped out a friend who was in a jam. At first, I thought that my worst scenario was I was helping him move around some hot stripped parts. I thought that I could claim not having no idea if shit went south, ya know. He called me a number of times after that with excuses why I was needed again.

I began to suspect that something was fishy. The excuses were always different. His delivery guy was sick and a part needed to be delivered, the delivery guy was on another run and they needed it for a repair, and the last one was it was a favor for a friend."

Joe's stomach started to twist. He felt the overwhelming desire to check his glove box in the car for Maalox.

Lula continued. "I was always paid in cash and the call would come in on my cellphone early in the day. I was told that I had to pick up and deliver the package within two hours due to the time sensitive nature of the job."

She looked at Joe.

"Looking back, I think I was being used as a mule to move drugs from one place to another."

Joe's heart stopped beating for a few seconds. This is what they had been discussing in the meeting.

He thought about his next remark and then spoke carefully.

"Lula, this is hard time kind of stuff. What ever possessed you to take it on? Do you even understand the ramifications of your actions?"

Lula's shoulders rounded and he could sense that she was about to let loose another round of tears.

He tried to calm his emotions as he sipped his cup of coffee. His mind was going round and round trying to sort out the situation.

Obviously at some point, he would need to arrest her. That was a given and although he hated the thought what that would do to both Lula and Stephanie, his hands were tied.

At the same time, it was dangerous, very dangerous, but they might be able to put a stop to the whole business sooner than without knowing where to start. He needed to talk to his team.

"Lula, I want you to head out of here. Go to the bond office, or go home. I don't want you to wander around town right now."

He paused for effect.

"If and when you get another call, I want to know immediately, and I mean immediately everything they say."

He looked at her.

"I cannot overstate that you need to watch your back. At the same time, I don't want you out there playing Two Gun Pete. I cannot promise a damn thing but I will try to help you all I can."

Lula nodded. It was better than she expected. He could have arrested her on the spot.

Joe looked at her.

"How much did you tell Stephanie? You know that once she gets the bit in her teeth, she will be off and running trying to help, and I really, really don't want her involved."

Lula looked a bit guilty.

"I told her my fears of being locked up. I told her about the pick-up requests. That's when she threatened me to call you, or she would."

Joe grimaced. If Stephanie stuck her nose in this, it could go sideways anytime. It was bad enough that there were so many variables now, but if she showed up at the wrong time, well, it might not be pretty."

"I will call her, Lula. Maybe she will listen to me. If not, I may have to enlist Ranger to keep her in the building, although that usually goes wrong somewhere."

Lula grunted. "She's already locked down in the building. She has someone stalking her and after a caper she and I performed, she isn't getting out that door anytime soon."

Joe wondered why he just had another impending vision of doom slice through his heart.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was pacing. She had finished the last of the searches and the reports. She had taken her shift at monitors but it had been very, very hard to sit still and watch, and only watch.

She looked at her watch.

Lula better call soon to let her know what was going on. She looked at her watch again for about the hundredth time.

Tank was watching her like a hawk now. Something was up and he didn't like the feel of it.

She had not asked for the keys to the apartment on four yet even though it was now vacant and ready to be occupied.

Tank knew that Lula had been there for lunch with Stephanie and when Lula left, he had watched her on the cameras as she left. Her face showed tension and combined with Little Girl outside his office wearing a path in the rug back and forth, he was worried.

Something was up. He could feel it in his bones. Something bad had happened and he just knew that something was about to blow soon. All the signs were there.

The main office became quiet and he knew that Ranger had stepped onto the floor.

Ranger motioned for Tank to follow him to his office. They walked in and closed the door. Ranger put the file folders on his desk and turned around to face Tank.

"Report," he barked. He too could feel the tension running off Stephanie and wondered if it had something to do with Lula visiting.

Tank shrugged his shoulders.

"How the hell do I know! She came back to the floor after seeing Lula to the elevator. Lula looks like somebody shot up her firebird. Stephanie has been pacing back and forth since she got off monitors and if she had not taken the shift, would have worn the path even deeper."

Ranger walked around to his desk and pulled up the camera, then flipped the monitor around so they could see Stephanie pacing and looking at her phone. She was obviously expecting a phone call.

They both watched as her phone rang and she dashed to the washroom to answer it. A few minutes later, she returned and slumped into her chair at her cubicle. Her face was ashen and she looked shaken by whatever news she had received.

Just then, Ranger's phone rang and looking at the display, he could see it was Morelli on the line.

Ranger opened it up and barked, "Manoso".

There was a moment of silence.

Joe spoke into the phone.

"Ranger, can I speak to both you and Tank at the same time? We have a situation."

Ranger pressed speaker and stated, "Tank is already in the same office. What's the problem, Morelli?"

Joe leaned back in his chair at his desk. This was going to be a rough conversation and although it was a police matter, both Stephanie and Lula were probably going to be involved somehow. He could just feel it.

"I need you to keep, or attempt to keep Stephanie in your building. Without going into details, Lula told her some information that will upset her and we both know that if Stephanie takes off, things can happen."

Ranger looked at Tank and he nodded his agreement. They both remembered the Slayers incident. Trying to keep her safe had proven to be difficult at best and a nightmare at the worst.

"Actually we are watching her on the main office camera and she is pacing up a storm out there. Whatever she told Lula when they had lunch together today is really upsetting her. Is there any way we can get some idea what set her off?"

Joe pondered his next movement. It was a police investigation but at the same time, Rangeman had knowledge of the pulse in some of the most unlikely areas of town.

"I cannot give many details, but Lula might be involved in a case we are working on. She was drawn in and having only realized what is happening, enlisted my aid on her next plan of action. I will not blow smoke up your ass, but she could be looking at some serious jail time for her actions."

Tank sat down in shock. His Lula Bear facing jail?

Ranger spoke. "It wouldn't have anything to do with the influx of drugs hitting town would it?"

Morelli swore under his breath. Of course they knew what was going on. Why didn't they just phone Rangeman and ask for details sooner?

He spoke. "I can neither confirm nor deny that statement." That was police talk for, 'You got it in one, asshole!'.

Everyone sighed at the same time. Wonderful.

Ranger spoke. "Whatever you can pass on we would appreciate. We can try for some more information from our end and give it to you. I want no official participation in your operation. Rangeman is to be left out of any report or conversation."

Joe nodded. "Agreed, this conversation never happened."

They both hung up at the same time.

Ranger looked at Tank sitting in a chair in front of his desk. He was mopping his face with his massive hand and muttering to himself. Ranger looked at Stephanie now sitting at her desk. She too looked like she lost her best friend.

He was afraid to even hazard a guess on how bad this was going to unfold.


	13. Chapter 13

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Chapter 13

Once again the room on the other side of town was occupied. Beer cans and pizza boxes lay strewn on coffee tables and the floor.

The room was blackened by shades pulled tight to keep out the light, but more importantly, prying eyes from any curious onlookers.

No cars graced the driveway leading one to suspect that there was a meeting of this importance convening at this time.

June Driedger looked around. She had wrestled control of this loose group of ner-do-wells months ago. She knew the streets, having posed as a street-walker. Closer inspection would have seen that she only jumped into cars of clients wanting what she was carrying in her purse, or in a shoe. She looked like a low level drug pusher, but in reality she was the kingpin.

She thought back.

Her rise to the top was impressive. She had arrived in town in the fall during the Mercer County Italian American Festival and had the look of a starving ex-student. Her face looked young and her body was smoking hot. Pimps lined up to add her to their stable but she was running solo.

She started working in less favorable locations, but word soon got around that what she was selling was worth finding her to buy. She moved around, generating more and more business. She tried to keep under the radar of the local cops.

She was slowly and carefully adding personnel to her limited company. She had convinced owners of businesses requiring the extensive use of couriered parts to join, with the promise of a big payout. How they sent out the shipments she left in their capable hands, whether using their own personnel or hiring casual.

They had established customers from some time ago so there would be no raised eyebrows when multiple deliveries arrived weekly or sporadically at best.

Unfortunately, businesses were hurting and generating a little more money however they could, made the temptation and the possible danger acceptable.

One level higher was the area superintendents. They reported to June and were all in attendance at this meeting.

A huge shipment was destined to arrive tomorrow. This was what they had been working for all those months. If they were not greedy, the payout at distribution time would allow all of them the chance to disappear and live comfortably for years to come. If greed set in, they could then expand their network and make even more.

There was some timidity in the room. A few had begun to get cold feet and wanted out. A few more were anxious to then pick up the possibly soon of available routes and give them an even bigger territory.

June pondered. She looked around the room at the men and women sitting, waiting.

Could she trust that the ones wanting out would not turn on them and take everything down like a house of cards in a strong wind? Should she take a chance on their loyalty? Should she tamp down her own feelings of unease and leave now? This was her third try, and anyone knowing baseball knew that three strikes and you were out.

She looked at her team. They were both excited but a little pensive. This was by far the largest shipment they had handled to date. Were they up to the task? Would their middle men and women pass down the goods in a timely manner?

They sat down prepared to get down to business.

Everyone knew their jobs.

They had practiced the routes numerous times with much smaller material and felt confident that everything would go according to plan.

The meeting ended with only a few changes.

Each person departed out different doors and at irregular times, heading to their vehicles scattered over the space of a couple of blocks.

~~~o0o~~~

Joe sat in his office with his cellphone in front of him.

Should he call Cupcake and warn her to stand down? On the other hand, if he ordered her to stay out of it, true to nature, she would see it like a red cape in front of her and instantly charge ahead.

Joe had enough on his plate without dealing with an unwilling ex girlfriend and a drawn in accomplice.

He and Gabriel had met and planned their part of the operation.

Gabriel was incensed that a friend of his had been taken out in the prime of his life. Tyler Braun had left behind a young wife and a baby on the way. He had made a personal promise that he would do all he could to bring in every single person he could who was tied into this investigation and let justice prevail to face the full wrath of the law.

Joe put his cellphone back into his pocket. He was hoping that Rangeman was secure enough to keep Stephanie inside. Unfortunately, he was not all that confident of their possible success. He too remembered the Slayers incident.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger and Tank sat in Tank's office. The door was closed but the discussion was minimal.

Each man was deep in thought.

Tank was heartbroken that Lula was in the middle of something illegal. He had been so supportive of her changing her outlook in life and the new direction she had taken.

He loved her attitude to life and her stubbornness with respect to sinking back into the quicksand of the quick and easy buck.

He thought back to the fight they had just over a month ago.

Tank had brought dinner to Lula's apartment. It was her favorite, fried chicken with all the fixings. He cringed at the work he would be forced to put in to counter that one meal, but it made her happy, and Tank was all about making her happy. A happy Lula was a romantic Lula and he was hoping for an eventful evening later.

To this day he still had no idea how the disagreement even began. It might have started with the fact that she dropped slaw on her new shirt and he mentioned in jest that that would never wash out and she might have to resort to purchasing something new that was a little less colorful that would not stain as easily.

One thing led to another and he found himself outside the apartment with his jacket in hand wondering how the evening had deteriorated so explosively.

Tank had called her on his phone when he got back to his apartment, but the call went to voice mail. He waited then tried again.

The next day he had flowers sent to her at the bond office but heard from Connie later that Lula had walked them out to the dumpster without even looking at them.

He tried to call again and once again the voice mail kicked in.

Tank waited a few days, then a few more days. He had eventually given up, hoping that time would temper her and they could discuss what really was happening.

Ranger, on the other hand, was reviewing his options.

He too was having woman issues, if he could call it that.

Stephanie was treating him with a kind of detachment that he had never seen in her, ever. She was acting so meek and passive it was almost scary, knowing her usual effervescence. He hated her disturbingly submissive attitude.

Mentally he snapped his fingers.

He picked up his phone and placed a call.

Manny picked up the phone and barked. "Front desk."

Ranger spoke.

"Do not let Stephanie leave the building for any reason, even if someone comes by to pick her up. She is in total lock-down until further notice."

Manny gulped. "Sir, yes sir," then hung up.

He had been in the building when Hal had been zapped by Stephanie as she made her escape. He remembered the fall-out and the resulting mat time with Ranger. Hal had been put on probation, after he was released from the hospital. He had been ordered to undergo further training in hand to hand combat and client protection. He was still living down the jokes. Unfortunately for Hal, he had been fast tracking up the ladder of success and the fallout slid his promotion back.

Manny prayed to every god he could think of for strength if he was in her sights.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was sitting at her desk. She had slumped down after the phone call from Lula explaining the details of her meeting with Joe.

She related how he had very carefully and professionally spelled out her options and where his hands were tied. Joe had given her no promises of immunity but at the same time, he had not immediately arrested her.

She had agreed to his terms, knowing that she had no other option.

Lula had explained to Stephanie that she was heading back to the bond office to work. She would phone Joe if she was contacted again.

Stephanie could see that Lula was in deep, deep shit. She was a drug mule. She had contributed to advancing the drug trade into Trenton where the problems had been basically small potatoes up until this point.

Stephanie had cautioned Lula, as Joe had done, that any co-operation she could provide would be sure to weigh in her favor down the road.

She asked her to be careful.

Stephanie wanted to drop everything and fly to her friend's aid, but Ranger's order of not leaving the building without him or a member of the team rang in her ears.

While she would have loved to have dashed out to try to help her friend somehow, she realized that there was really nothing she could contribute in person that she was not by phone.

Lula had literally shrugged and stated that until something happened, she was going to go about her day as if nothing had happened.

Stephanie looked at the bag of St. Patrick's Day decorations on the top of her desk. She thought of the vacant apartment waiting for her to take possession.

Would Rex like to move again from his perch in Ranger's kitchen. Ella had started once again to supplement his hamster pellet diet and he was certainly enjoying the attention she gave him.

Her foot tapped nervously as she sat at her desk.

~~~oOo~~~

Ranger and Tank walked out of Tank's office and stopped at Stephanie's desk.

She looked up at them as they made an imposing sight directly in front of her. Unconsciously she shrank in their presence.

Ranger spoke.

"Babe, we have to check out a couple of tips, but should be back in an hour or so. Ella has the evening off and I was wondering if you wanted me to pick up something for supper on the way back?"

He waited for a reply.

If she was still feeling down or almost submissive, she would probably shrug her shoulders and state that it was too much trouble and she would just find something in the break room.

Ranger was almost hoping that she would do that. He would then come to the opinion that she was letting Lula and Joe work it out and was planning on staying out of whatever might come down.

Stephanie softly spoke.

"I'm still really full from all the food that Lula brought. Thank you for the kind offer, but I will be fine, thank you."

Ranger nodded and they walked off.

Stephanie had said all the right words, but...

They proceeded to head for the stairs and made their way down to the garage. Ranger made a detour at the main floor lobby and stepped out.

Manny was working on the computer but looked up as the door opened.

Ranger stood with the door knob in his hand.

"I say again. Stephanie is not to leave. Do I make myself clear?"

Manny had the overwhelming desire to stand at attention. He nodded. "Sir, yes sir."

Ranger nodded and headed back into the stairwell. He walked out and climbed into the Hummer and Tank pulled out.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you so much for all your reviews. Excuse time here. March is tournament time and I am trying to return as many PM's as I can but if I missed you, please believe that I appreciate each and every one.**

Chapter 14

Ranger and Tank returned to Rangeman. They had been on a bit of a fact-finding journey and the feeling on the street was excited.

It sounded almost like something big was going to explode in the next few days. Low level dealers were taking orders.

Middle level was ramping up their delivery systems and checking for bugs and informants. Nothing seemed to be out of place, yet.

Tank's his hand slid off the phone sitting on his hip. He wanted to talk to her but if he did, Lula might suspect that he knew of her difficulties at the present time.

He hoped that she would come out clean but he knew that if Morelli was involved, it would be unlikely. He was too good a cop to let something like this slide.

Tank could not see her handling a prison setting very well. Lula was an upbeat person but being locked up against her will would make that never-say-die attitude dim to possibly a nonexistent level. Both her parents had been sent to prison along with her sister at one point in time, and Lula had always vowed she would not be following in their footsteps.

At the same time, Tank was worrying about Stephanie too. They were best of friends and the thought of Lula being locked up would make her very sad too, replaying over and over in her mind where she could have guided her in another direction if she had known.

He checked the camera in the main office and watched her as she worked on the computer. Her shifts were over yet here she was working.

Tank did not see any files open on her desk. It appeared that she was on a search on her own time. It almost looked like... hmm.

Tank phoned Hector.

He cut to the chase. (Italics means spoken in Spanish)_Bring up Stephanie's computer and check what she is working on right now._

Tank's phone buzzed. Hector was back on the line.

"_Estephonia is looking up drug busts during the past year in parts of the eastern seaboard and their resulting jail terms. She has cross referenced the DEA opening a new office in New York. Now, she is checking plane, train and bus schedules for times arriving in Trenton during the next three days."_

Tank hung up. He just knew that she was getting her nose into what was happening. The only problem was that she was their best person for searching for that needle in the haystack and the fact that she had already delved into it meant that they would have to be extra vigilant to keep her safely in the building.

Tank checked his schedule and noted that Vince had now taken over from Manny. He phoned down to the main lobby.

"Front desk", came the deep baritone voice of Vince.

Tank spoke.

"Did Manny brief you on the need to guarantee that Stephanie not leave the building under any circumstances?"

Vince replied.

"He left a note and underlined it three times for emphasis."

Tank hung up. So far, so good.

Tank checked his watch. It was 2000 hours. She had not taken a break for any food or drink.

He stood up and walked out the door, heading for her cubicle.

"Little Girl, it is way past your shift. I assume that you will be staying on seven tonight. Should I release the apartment on four?"

Stephanie stopped her typing.

"I totally forgot, Tank. I'm sorry. I was working on a special project and totally forgot the time. If it is OK, can I finish it?"

She blushed and surreptitiously tried to cover up the paperwork she had been printing off.

She looked at Tank but didn't meet his eyes.

"Would it be OK if I decorated my cubicle a bit? Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and everyone is an honorary Irishman on St. Pattie's Day, even you Tank."

She looked away as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. She seemed to get the point that he had never been nor was ever planning on joining the Honorary Irishman's Club.

She blushed and looked down.

He spoke.

"Don't work too long. You are on shift at 0730 tomorrow, and that's because you have not attended one of my morning meetings in quite awhile. Little Girl, since by all indications you are going to be gracing our presence for awhile, you need to catch up on the new procedures we are introducing."

He realized afterward that she had not answered his question. Well, it was too late to worry about it tonight. Tomorrow would be another day.

Tank headed for his apartment. He had been on duty for almost 16 hours. His feet hurt and he was worried about Lula.

He decided to give her cell one more try.

She answered on the second ring, almost hesitant. He could hear the tremor in her voice.

"Lula Belle, you answered."

Lula tried to keep her voice calm.

"Hey Tankie. I'm just sitting here watching some stupid tear jerker of a movie."

Tank knew she was trying to cover up her crying.

He thought. "I just got off shift and I haven't had anything to eat. What say I bring over something to eat (please don't say slaw) and we can watch that movie together?"

Lula could be heard turning off the television. "Sure, Tankie Bear. How 'bout Pino's?"

Tank smiled. He already had his keys in his hand as he spoke.

"I'll just pick it up and be right over."

He hung up and dashed for the stairs.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger, on the other hand, was sitting up on seven, eating alone. Stephanie had politely declined eating supper saying that she was still very full from lunch and wanted to get some more searches done.

He sat at his desk in his office and checked the cameras in the main control room. She was furiously typing, then printing, then sitting with her feet on her chair and reading with her yellow highlighter gripped in her right hand, highlighting words here and there. Her brow was creased in concentration.

Ranger had come up and had a quick shower, then, unable to contain his curiosity, he had checked for her clothes in the boxes. They were still neatly standing in a corner, but he smiled anyway.

She had not moved, at least not yet. Rex was still on the kitchen counter and it was obvious that Ella had visited before she had taken off for the evening. He had fresh fruit and vegetables in his bowl and it looked like homemade hamster nuggets too.

He could see Rex laying half in his soup can, almost passed out from all the healthy food now in his diet.

Ranger had made himself an egg white omelet with spinach and peppers and sat at the kitchen counter.

He was re-living the conversation he had with one of his contacts on the street.

~~~o0o~~~

Flashback

Molly had been a street-walker for a number of years. She liked the excitement but was careful of who she dealt with. She had her regulars and she had her corner. Fortunately, she had a somewhat understanding pimp who didn't beat her for talking to someone.

Tank had stayed back as Ranger approached her. He was checking and watching for trouble. The sight of Tank on their street sent the curious scurrying away.

Ranger had brought Molly a coffee. She loved coffee, and he had started to bring her flavors from different countries from the Starbucks down the street. She was not welcome in there and the only time she could have one was if Ranger or someone else brought her one.

Molly smiled as he held out the distinctive cup. She could smell the aroma as he walked toward her. She took the cup and gave an appreciative sniff as she removed the lid.

"You brought me this one three weeks ago, Ranger. You are slipping."

Molly smiled as she took a sip and her eyes closed in satisfaction.

Ranger could not help it but smile too. Molly was such a character. He had discussed maybe changing professions, but she was adamant. Not many people knew she had a Master's in Sociology. She had been raised in a well-to-do family setting and her financial future was secure if she went back but she wanted her life on her own terms.

Ranger had come to the conclusion that she was indeed using the knowledge she gained in university and studying people. He had read her thesis. It was titled "Knowing the Person Walking Beside You".

Molly took another sip.

"Something's coming down, I can feel it on the street. There is almost excitement in the air. The druggies are lining up their money for something good coming down the pipe."

Ranger schooled his face. "Anything concrete that we can work with, or just the feel of the street?"

Molly carefully put her cup down on the edge of the planter then proceeded to remove a shoe giving him a piece of paper.

"It's a name. She is pretending to walk down here but she never takes any clients. She walks around trying to be like us, but she isn't, if you know what I mean."

Ranger nodded his thanks. He shook her hand and she very quickly placed what he had palmed her into a pocket.

He turned without another word and walked away. He had told her to be careful many times but she was adamant that that was what she wanted to do in life and was happy, at least for now.

They climbed back into the Hummer and drove away, watching as the corner began to revert back to its normal traffic.

Ranger opened the tiny sheet of paper. Molly had beautiful printing. She could have been anything she wanted but had chosen the oldest profession to practise her trade.

There was a name. It read: June Driedger.

End Flashback.

~~~o0o~~~

Joe too had been busy. He had checked with his informants and the word on the street was excited.

Nobody was willing to give names or dates, but it sounded close, very close.

Joe climbed back into his car with Gabriel sitting in the passenger seat. He related what was going on.

Gabriel was the excitable type and was not partnering well with Joe. Joe got excited because of his Italian heritage, but this guy had to calm down or he would be useless when it came time to ramp up and close down the operation.

His nervous habits were starting to become tiresome. He twirled a finger in his hair, he clicked a pen throughout any meeting, and he popped his gum when he chewed.

They headed back to the station for the evening meeting.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie finished decorating her cubicle. She had used everything that Lula had brought and it was now gaily decorated in green.

Stephanie had contacted Ella by voice mail wondering if she had had time to make anything special for the day. Stephanie was unsure if Ranger would allow it in the break room, but she would try to get it passed tomorrow in the meeting.

Stephanie felt a tiny spark of life returning. She was starting to feel better about herself.

She looked at the elevator then walked over to it and pressed the button. The elevator opened and she stepped in, pressing her key fob taking her to seven.

She walked in the apartment door, took off her shoes and laid her keys in the dish. For awhile at least, she was home.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Stephanie stopped in the hallway. Ranger was sitting in the living room working on his laptop.

He usually worked in his office if he had work, so it must be something else he was looking at.

He looked up.

"Hi Babe, finished what you were working on down there?"

Stephanie nodded her head.

"Something I was working on that made me question some things. Nothing to worry about, Ranger. I worked on it on my own time and you won't see it on my time card."

He grimaced slightly. She was still apologizing. They were not quite there yet.

Ranger nodded to the kitchen.

"If you are hungry, I grabbed a few sandwiches from the break room for you."

Stephanie moved toward the kitchen. She didn't think she was hungry, but if he had made the effort, she should at least check it out.

She opened the fridge and pulled out a sandwich package.

It was a peanut butter and olive sandwich. There was no way this had come from the break room. Ranger had made it hoping that she might eat something.

Stephanie walked the sandwich back into the living room.

"Thank you."

Ranger nodded.

He looked at the time on the laptop. He was going to play hard ball here. He opened another site. It was well past 2200 and Stephanie was looking tired.

He knew she was looking at the couch wanting to crash, but he wasn't moving. She had a choice of the bed in his room or she would have to leave and find another room to crash.

Ranger knew that Tank had taken off and the keys to the vacant apartment on four were on his desk.

Stephanie sat in one of the arm chairs and ate her sandwich quietly, except for one little moan of enjoyment.

She rolled up the plastic wrap and played with it trying to decide her next move. Obviously she was not going to ask him to vacate his own couch but she was really weary. The little sleep she had had last night was catching up with her. Her back was better, and she really was feeling the need for a shower. She felt grungy after the long day.

Stephanie stood up.

"Is it OK if I take a shower, Ranger, unless you want to first, of course?"

Ranger looked up. Before, that would have elicited a cute remark that he was good in the shower, or that if they showered together they would save water.

He spoke. "I'm good, Babe. Take your time," and he went back to typing.

Stephanie stood up and looked at him as she slowly moved to the bedroom to get something to wear.

He could hear the bathroom door close and the shower turn on. He checked his watch. She was not rushing tonight and was probably washing her hair. The water turned off and he could hear the shower door open. He was visualizing her working through the tangles on her hair and then putting moisturizer all over her body.

Ranger smiled to himself. He was quite prepared to park his butt on this couch all night forcing her to sleep in that room.

Stephanie made her appearance. She was dressed in an oversized Ranger's hockey jersey and he could see a tiny thong peeking out as she moved.

She looked at him and sighed. He was not moving. She looked back at the bed. It did look really, really comfortable and the thought of those sheets almost made her moan.

She spoke.

"Well, good night Ranger. I will talk to you in the morning, and closing the door softly, she climbed into the bed, covering herself up right to her chin.

Ranger waited for at least ten minutes before shutting down the computer and turning out the lights, then he quietly slipped into the room.

He pulled off his shirt, dropped his cargoes, and slipped into bed, punching the pillow.

Stephanie spoke.

"I know you did that on purpose, Ranger."

Ranger smiled. "Good night, Babe."

Morning found Stephanie sprawled on top of Ranger. She opened her eyes to him watching her. His hands had itched to pull her closer to him but he had resisted. He contented himself watching as she woke up.

Understanding crossed her face and she carefully moved off him, careful not to dig into him with an errant knee or hip.

She looked at the time on the clock. It was almost 0600. He had stayed in bed instead of heading to the gym.

He was about to speak, but she threw the covers off her and made a dash for the washroom. He heard the toilet flush and the shower turn on.

This time it was a short and fast shower and she came strolling out, wearing his robe that was always hanging on the back of the door.

He climbed out of the bed and walked into the bathroom, closing the door.

Stephanie licked her lips. My, that was one fantastic specimen of a man.

She dressed quickly to give him the room and headed for the kitchen.

Ella was just delivering their breakfast and she smiled as Stephanie came into the room.

"Good morning, Stephanie", she said, smiling as she saw Stephanie eyeing the two covered breakfast dishes.

Ella stepped over to Rex's cage and looking in, saw that his dish was almost empty. She dropped in a small piece of apple, and a raisin, then a few hamster nuggets she took out of a plastic container.

He was sound asleep after running the qualifying marathon for the hamster Olympics.

Ella backed out of the kitchen with her cart as Ranger stepped to the door.

"Good morning, Ella, and thank you," murmured Ranger to his aunt.

Ella responded and moving to the door, quietly let herself out.

Stephanie had waited for Ranger to arrive before she lifted both lids.

Ranger was having a bowl of oatmeal this morning with fresh fruit on top. Stephanie's plate held a waffle with whipped cream and blueberries dotted throughout.

They both picked up eating utensils and set to work. Their coffee was already by their plates, mixing aromas in with the breakfast.

Stephanie looked at her watch.

Tank had booked her for a shift this morning, but she remembered that he had reminded her about the staff meeting at 0730.

She finished her breakfast and rose from the table, taking her plate, cup and cutlery and putting them in the dishwasher.

Ranger watched her prepare to leave.

"I will see you at the meeting, Babe," he said as she headed out the door.

He smiled. Stephanie had eaten everything on her plate. Maybe she was coming back to them.

~~~o0o~~~

Lula woke up feeling a bit stiff and sore. Tank had indeed come over with meatball subs from Pino's and they had watched a movie together.

One thing led to another and he had stayed the night, cuddling her to his chest when her tears woke him in the early morning.

She had not divulged what was bothering her and he had respected her enough to not push when she refused to tell him what had wakened her up.

Grudgingly he had risen and left her to get back to Rangeman.

She had walked him to the door and the kiss they gave each other, hoping that their next reunion would not be as long as this one.

Tank was at his desk when Ranger came down from seven.

He was looking a bit pensive but he had his meeting notes in front of him and was concentrating on the agenda.

Stephanie was sitting at her desk surrounded by the greenery that she had put up the night before.

The men stopped by and complimented her on her decorating, and each man received a tiny smile and a badge that stated that today they were all honorary Irishmen.

She was having a sudden reluctance to ask Ranger for permission to have Ella serve green snacks in the break room. There was nothing healthy about any of it: sugar cookies with green sprinkles, mint nanaimo bars, green flapper pie in tiny squares, and a low fat chocolate square with green icing.

She contemplated, then stood up. Stephanie walked to Ranger's office door and knocked softly.

At the word, 'Enter', she turned the knob on the door and peeked in. He was surrounded by his own mountain of paper.

Ranger looked up and waved her in. She stepped in and walked to the front of the desk.

"Ranger, I asked Ella to make some somewhat healthy snacks celebrating St. Patrick's Day, and I wanted to ask your permission to allow them in the break room. I hoped they might partake a little bit since it is a holiday of sorts. I hope you will allow it, but I wouldn't let Ella bring them up until I had your permission."

She stopped in mid thought.

Ranger looked at her and thought about it.

"I saw how much effort you put into decorating for today, Babe. I normally don't allow useless calories around here, but it is only one day a year. You can call Ella and let her know I said she could put them out this morning."

He watched as her eyes changed from questioning to happy, and mentally did a jig of his own. Edna had said that it would take between a few days to a few weeks to get back to her normal self, but she was beginning to snap back.

He gave thanks that he would not have to arrange for Edna to come and talk to her in the building. He could just see the looks of horror on his men's faces if it had come to that. Small mercies, indeed.

Stephanie thanked him and practically danced out the door, her phone already in her hand calling Ella.

The snacks would be in the break room by the time the meeting ended.

0730 rolled around and the large conference room was filled with men. A couple looked surprised to see Stephanie there. She hated to attend meetings of any kind. She fidgeted and would inevitably start to doodle on a page of paper. She usually drowned out the sounds of the meeting and after the first few minutes had no idea what was said.

Tank looked around. He kept his smile to himself as he watched Stephanie already fidgeting.

He started the meeting, keeping one eye on her.

"Today, we are starting off the meeting with the new safety procedures. As we have some new hires on board, it is always good to reinforce the procedures with respect to a fire in the building, a medical emergency, or an intruder alert."

He paused for emphasis.

"Management takes safety very, very seriously. Therefore, in front of you are the new procedures. Read them, and remember them. In an emergency, we don't have time to pull out the sheet and read it."

He looked down the table at the men.

"I need eyes and ears on the streets. Check your contacts. Something is brewing out there and it feels like there will be some kind of action in the next few days. Without going into detail, I do not, and I repeat, do not want anybody going off half-cocked here and getting themselves into trouble or dead chasing down a lead. You get yourself into trouble, and you will answer to me."

Tank made a point of looking at Stephanie as he spoke. She shrunk down in her chair and squirmed.

Tank flipped a page.

"Onto other business, ..."

Stephanie closed her eyes as he spoke. Tank somehow suspected that she was up to something. The warning had been as plain as day, and she knew that it had been directed at her. She had been so careful to keep all the paperwork covered.

She peeked at Hector sitting in the corner. She wondered...hmm. Had he, or could he see what she was working on from down in his computer kingdom in the bowels of the building?

He looked up as she eyed him, feeling that he was being watched. She noticed that he gave absolutely nothing away.

She looked away. He would never tell if he had.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Lula was just preparing to climb into her car when her phone rang.

She stopped her movements and it rang again. She so did not want to take this call, but she was under orders from Morelli.

Slowly she reached into her shirt and pulled the phone out from where she liked to store it.

"Hello," came out as a timid response, even to her ears.

"Lula, my friend. I need another favor. My delivery guy is out with the flu again and I'm backlogged."

Lula sat in her car, shaking.

She took a deep breath and spoke.

"Hey Donny. I was just heading to work when you caught me. I can give you a hand if you want but I need a bit more notice. Connie has some appointments today and I have to cover the office while she is away."

There was a pregnant silence on the line.

Donny spoke. "I'll get back to you, Lula." There was a click on the line

Her finger pressed another button and she heard a voice.

"Morelli".

Lula took a deep breath and spoke.

"I just received a call from Donny. I asked for a bit more lead time since I'm covering for Connie and he basically hung up on me. I hope I didn't mess it up."

Joe swore softly to himself, but he didn't let on to Lula. He wondered if they might have just lost their best lead.

It sounded like it was starting to come down, and soon, if the mules were being prepped.

Joe spoke. "Well, let's hope that he took your excuse seriously. Everyone knows that you cover in the office when need be."

He chatted with her for a couple of minutes asking her to be careful and to call him again if she got another call.

Joe headed to the conference room. He would add the tidbit that the mules might be ramping up.

~~~o0o~~~

The morning meeting at Rangeman had wrapped up and everyone was pouring out of the conference room. Some had headed to the break room for a cup of coffee to take to their desks. Some were preparing to head out on patrol.

Stephanie sat down in front of the monitors for her shift. She could hear the excited exclamations as the men found the treats in the break room. Stephanie looked longingly at the room, hoping that there would be something to snack on when her break came.

Les walked out on crutches with a napkin balanced carefully between two fingers as he limped to his cubicle. He looked at Stephanie sitting in front of the monitors and sighed.

He had fought hard to procure something before it all disappeared but the sight of Stephanie sitting there locked in, realized that there would be nothing left for her.

He walked past her and headed to her cubicle. He put the napkin with his bounty on her desk and stumped away. Les reasoned that he didn't need the sweets anyway.

Stephanie's shift ended and she sadly made her way to her cubicle. She had heard groans of disappointment from the men who had arrived late.

She sat down in her chair.

Sitting on her desk were four napkins, each holding a different snack.

A little smile peeked out. Her guys were still thinking of her.

Stephanie picked up a cookie and took a small bite. Ella had done an outstanding job. It was soft and buttery with two colors of green sprinkles sitting on top.

Her eyes took in the nanaimo square. Chocolate on top, minty green middle and a coconut/cocoa crust.

She took a look around. Nobody had taken credit for leaving her the treats.

Her mouth opened and she took a small bite. She couldn't help the moan that escaped. There came a small chuckle from the main office.

Ranger was in his office watching the cameras of the going ons in the main office. While he had cringed at the sugar that had just disappeared from the break room, it made him feel good that his men had thought of Stephanie and had saved some for her.

He suspected that they believed that she had been involved in the celebration, and although Ella had baked the treats they knew that she would not have made these without some suggestions or permission.

Stephanie set to work. Her in-box was jam packed full and she fired up her computer search engine to get started.

Her hand sneaked over and gradually all the tasty treats disappeared.

She stopped to take a break. Her eyes hurt from the strain of looking at the computer screen for hours. Her back hurt from sitting in one position without moving. Her butt hurt from the office chair and she longed to take a break and leave the building. She looked longingly at the elevator. It did go down to the main floor, or the garage, where freedom beckoned.

She looked away. She had promised Ranger.

Lunch time came and she headed for the break room.

She couldn't find a place to sit and eat as all the chairs were occupied by the men in black.

Taking her food back to her cubicle she walked past Tank's open doorway as he was on the phone.

She could not help but hear part of the conversation. She suspected he was talking to Lula and he sounded like he was trying to reassure her.

Stephanie stopped and listened.

Tank spoke.

"Lula, please Baby, trust me. I love you."

Then,

"We will get through this. I boarded out my cats and if you want to stay at my place for awhile, I can move things around."

Stephanie glanced around. Nobody saw her standing there listening, but she felt the need to keep on moving.

Lunch was forgotten as she sat at her desk and twirled her chair round and round in thought. She had stayed up late last night getting some information and it was interesting what she had dug up. Her first thought was to let either Tank or Ranger see it and see what she should do with her results.

On second thought, she knew exactly what they would say, Oh, yeah, they would immediately ban her from searching any farther and then would take the information away from her.

Stephanie headed to the bathroom.

Just as she closed the door, her phone rang. She flipped it open and Lula was on the line.

"I'm covering for Connie right now. She is at the dentist's office and I'm bored."

Stephanie's first moments of panic subsided. She had assumed that Tank was talking about her being in trouble but with only one side of the conversation, she might have assumed wrong.

Stephanie put a hand on the counter and jumped up, sitting on the edge, balancing between the two sinks. She spoke.

"How are you holding up, Lula? Has Morelli been in contact with you? I'm worried about you, girl, and I can't get out of here to do a darn thing about it."

Lula gurgled in her phone, then there was a crunching sound. It appeared from the sounds that she was drinking a Big Gulp and eating a bag of chips as she talked.

"I'm doing OK, White Girl. Tankie came over last night with Pino's and we watched a movie. I think that I'mma going to be looking for somewhere else to live soon. This place is just too small for big, beautiful bodies like we have. This morning Donny phoned but I said I had to work today and needed more time to help him out. He hung up on me but Morelli said that everyone in the Burg knows that I cover, so he's not worried I screwed it up."

Stephanie's alarm bells starting chiming, but she tried to remain calm. Maybe this Donny guy marched to a different beat, but if someone had said that to her about a job it would have appeared to be dragging their feet for some reason.

"You take care out there, Lula. I don't want you getting in the way of some really bad stuff. Listen to Morelli. He's an ass but he is a good cop and I know that he will try to do all he can for you."

She paused.

"If you can, can you let me know if something else happens. I am worried for you."

Lula laughed, but it was a cautious laugh.

"I'mma going to stay positive, Stephanie."

Lula spoke again. "Gotta go, the other line is ringing."

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger could feel something was about to come down. His own alarm bells were ringing and he was having trouble trying to keep his concentration on delving into the massive mountain of paperwork on his desk.

Tank walked into the office and sat down. He still looked like his best friend had been in an altercation and had come out second best, and in some ways, it was true.

He had tried to get Lula to give him a few details of her troubles without actually probing, but she was keeping it all very close to her chest.

He had brought over the food and they watched t.v for awhile and then, that special look passed between them. They had barely hung onto their clothes as they headed for the bedroom.

Hours later, they were both feeling mellow and relaxed enough to engage in pillow talk.

Lula was wondering why Stephanie was, in essence being punished for something that she too had contributed to, and Tank had mentioned about the stalker.

Lula shook her head in sadness. Stephanie was such a free spirit that to cage her in the building was almost cruel. She understood the need for keeping her safe, but was she not able to leave with at least someone as back-up?

Tank responded she, in a note of final surrender agreed that she would abide by Ranger's rules and was paying back in time the huge expense Rangeman had incurred in trying to track them down.

Once again, Lula shook her head. She knew that Stephanie would make up the time, but it was the passive acceptance that concerned her.

Stephanie had been browbeaten by her mother most of her life. Lula could see it, having been in the same boat. But Lula had fought against it, earning beatings and suspensions from everything from tv to being out with friends to even going to school. The abuse had only ended when she was taken away from her parents and put in foster care when they were sentenced to jail.

She knew that Stephanie had taken another path, and just submitted to the insensitive nature of her mom.

She had watched as her perfect sister, Valerie had been allowed to go to parties, and beauty camps, and extended holidays with friends. She had been given permission to enrol in beauty school and taught everything from make-up tips, to deportment. Val had been Senior Queen and her picture had been published in the Trenton Times. Val had married right out of high school and had settled into the Burg way of life, a child on the way and a small house of their own.

Stephanie, on the other hand, had been given letters in sports throughout high school and there was some thought that she might get a partial scholarship in soccer after graduation. Her mother had refused to entertain the idea of her daughter getting a scholarship for playing childish sports and getting dirty, again. That was just a fancy way of saying that she was not smart enough to get it on marks and refused to sign the papers allowing them to contact her.

Stephanie had been slipped money by her grandmother Edna to apply for university and was successful in getting accepted to a small college named Douglas College, close but not too close. Her dad had taken out a loan for her to take classes and she had promised him that she would pay him back every penny, someday. He had patted her back and gone back to reading his paper.

Stephanie had never known she was even being considered for a sports scholarship until a chance remark one day on campus led her to try out for the team and make it. The coach had pulled her aside and commented that he had seen her play in high school and was pleased she had chosen his campus. While he could not earmark any money for her, he did arrange for her to get odd jobs to supplement the meager amounts her mother had allowed her.

She was a steady and stalwart member of the team for the four years, graduating with a business degree. Stephanie could see that if she was ever to make any money, it would be in the business world, not because that was the place to be, but that she could get up and move around consulting with clients, travelling here and there, and seeing new places.

Unfortunately, she had not taken into account world markets and when various and vicious stock market crashes occurred, it effectively left millions of people unemployed, her included. Being able to bounce, she kept getting a job somewhere. Her resume was looking a bit tattered going from business consultant, to lingerie buyer, to BEA.

Now to be told that she was at the mercy of Rangeman and locked down in a building with no chance to let her wings unfurl, she appeared to be drawing into herself.

Lula vowed that if she could, she would help her friend. She didn't know how, but she would.

Tank had given nothing away to Ranger about their conversation, except to ask if Stephanie could at least get out with him for some fresh air. He had some errands in town and was willing to have her come along.

Ranger had contemplated the same thing. In his mind, she had more than paid back the time, but the lack of information coming in about her stalker was at least interesting, and at best confusing. It looked like it had been a random thing, but leaving nothing to chance, he was still checking out leads.

He looked at Tank and said he would think about it.

~~~o0o~~~

June made a phone call.

"Any sign of her leaving the building?"

The report was frustrating at best. When she was driven into the bowels of Rangeman, it had looked like a short term solution.

Like the time she had hidden from the Slayers, nobody was able to get a bead on her until she had wound up at her sister's wedding shower, and they had scooped her then.

June knew all about what had transpired after that. One of the few remaining Slayers had reported that they had grabbed her in that monstrosity of a car and stuck her in the trunk, then took her to the 'proving ground' as they had called it.

The judge and jury were waiting for the new trial. Her brother, Normie, was about to be avenged.

His street name was Junkman, and he died that night. He had been moving up the ladder of success as the Five Star General and was looking at acquiring more territory. He was the man, the kingpin, the lord almighty of gangland.

June was the kid hanging on to the shirttails of her brother. She was deemed too young to join, but she waited for the right time to get involved.

Unfortunately her brother had been cut down too young to make more of a name for himself, but his sister had learned from his mistakes.

She had taken the time to solidify her base and was moving steadily upwards, getting rid of competition and making it very plain where she was heading. Her back was always covered and she had a good group of followers who were willing to do almost anything for her.

She had kept loose tabs on Stephanie Plum, the woman she blamed for her brother's death, but she had not been ready to exact revenge until now.

The timing was right to infiltrate the Trenton area and bringing in her crew, she had managed to get a solid footing in the area.

Now that the routes had been tested a number of times with small amounts, it was time to bring in a big one. Her men were ready, her lower level management were hungry and greedy enough for the increased danger, and mules, well, they had always been expendable.

June wondered what it would take to get Stephanie Plum out of that building. Nobody was getting married, and her family appeared to be stable. Was there a friend she would do anything for?

**Duh Duh, Duh Duh, Duh Duhhhhhhh.  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you for all the reviews. I am still out of town with very limited internet, but will respond when I get back. Until then, enjoy.**

**Tick, tock, tick, tock.**

Chapter 17

The call came down.

June sat in her car looking at the cell phone in her hand.

A shipment was coming in later today. It was big, big enough that this could be their retirement if they so chose.

She shook herself with excitement. She had a long list of things needing to be done before the day was over.

First, she contacted her 'chemist'. He was a young kid but he had come well recommended.

He was the main man for cutting the shipment down into manageable sizes for distribution. He was currently renting a little place just outside of town, away from prying eyes and sticky fingers.

He had been attending Johns Hopkins University on a full ride biochemistry degree. One thing led to another and he had been caught using university equipment for lab work not sanctioned by the professors. After the disciplinary hearing, he had been suspended from school for a period of two years and his name was put on a universities advisory list across the country on the national alert list.

Jeremy Witherspoon had found his calling, but unfortunately so had his younger sister.

He had arrived home under the flimsy excuse that he had a week off to find her showing all the signs of being a cokehead.

Their parents were old school and had no idea what was happening in their daughter's world. She was in her final year of high school with her whole life ahead of her, when, to their consternation, her grades started to slip and her demeanor changed.

She didn't exhibit big signs but the little signs screamed druggie.

She refused to sit the SAT's. She didn't want to take part in any senior after school activities with respect to planning graduation.

She dropped out of basketball, her favorite sport. Her parents had pulled some serious strings to transfer her to this school because of the well respected basketball program.

Scouts had been planning on coming to see her play. She had been on their radar to add to their programs in University.

Michaela began to drift.

She was showing all the classic signs of drug use, but her parents were so wrapped up in their own lives that they failed to see or acknowledge a problem with their youngest daughter.

She failed a number of first term courses. Her parents were aghast and sat in on a meeting with the guidance counselor and the principal.

They sat Michaela down and questioned her about her lack of drive lately.

She had shrugged her shoulders and mumbled that she was assessing where her life would lead and she would need time to figure it out.

Her parents agreed that life as a teenager was confusing and agreed to let her 'find her way'.

Jeremy tried to get them to see that Michaela was heading on a slow track to despair but they were adamant that she was only working out in her head what she wanted in life.

He had left sadly believing that he was indirectly contributing to his sister's habit. He had promised June that he would handle this shipment, but he too had to decide his next life move.

~~~o0o~~~

Lula was on her way home. It had been tiring manning the phone when Connie was away.

Vinnie had been in his office for awhile but Lula had banged on his door, shouting that if he didn't turn down that shit, she would march into his office and shoot his computer. Just to prove the point, she had taken her gun out of her purse and had stood by the door, alternating taking out the clip and sliding it back in again, making sure it was loud enough for him to hear.

He had vacated his office and stomped out, complaining that he owned the business and could do what he liked in it.

Connie had finally returned, one side of her face swollen like a chipmunk.

She had waved her away, saying that that late in the day, it was unlikely any calls would come in and she would be fine.

Lula stopped by the Cluck in a Bucket for a snack to get her home when a call came in on her cell phone.

She fished it out of her bra and answered.

Donny was on the line.

"Lula, I need you for a delivery. I know it's unusual, but can you drop something off for me after ten?"

Lula put the snack box down.

"I suppose, but who works this late at night?"

Donny spoke. "I've got a friend who is getting ready to race this weekend and the car needs some parts. They work after hours in a shop and get a cut rate on hoist time. They just found out that they need some parts. The time-trials are tomorrow and they plan to pull an all-nighter. Can you help?"

Lula thought about it.

"Sure Donny, I'mma doing nothing special tonight."

Donna gave her the time to show up and hung up.

Lula pressed the button. Morelli answered. He sounded like he had been sleeping.

"I just got a call for a late night drop."

Joe was instantly awake. This might be it. They had heard that a large shipment was en route. They had a line where it was being delivered and cut. They had a line on most, if not all the layers down on the distribution side.

They still did not have a line on the head of the snake.

"I want to put a wire on you, Lula. If you can get him to give any information that will help us capture the high level heads, it would help us finish this up."

Lula was living in fear that that might happen. She knew that Stephanie wore a wire all the time when she did distractions and knew that a few times it had been discovered.

Stephanie had been saved by the men in black when they were alerted to the danger and had rushed in.

Lula reasoned that if someone was hearing what she was saying, either it was really, really dangerous for her or that what she could get out of them would help her cause at the same time as wrap up the case.

"Okay, I guess so," came the hesitant reply.

Joe noted the hesitation.

"Lula, it should be fine, it's just a precaution."

Lula nodded. She would do it. She had gotten herself into this mess and she would attempt to help herself get out of it.

Joe arranged for her to meet him behind Dunkin Donuts at nine.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was at her computer. She had finished all the work in the in-box and was back to delving into what might be happening in Trenton with the drug scene.

She had found a few niggling bits of information and was looking at getting down to the nuts and bolts of what might be happening.

A chance note caught her eye.

She brought up another search engine and caught her breath. Her heart started to pound and she saw spots in front of her eyes.

She was looking at a picture of Norman Carver in his younger days. Beside him was an obvious sibling, a young girl. The caption said that the girl, named Jane, was an up and coming track star and was being wooed by a number of colleges for full-ride scholarships.

Stephanie looked at the picture, her heart racing. She had seen this girl, and not that long ago. She wracked her brain for the connection.

Stephanie pulled out her phone as she was heading to the bathroom.

Stephanie pressed the button and Lula answered. Stephanie did not take the time for pleasantries.

"Lula, do you remember when we picked up Marion Reimer a couple of weeks ago? She was on your old corner and you commented that if she couldn't dress the part, she should move on?"

Lula growled. "Yeah, and she told me that I was too old to be giving her talk like that! Yeah, I remember."

Stephanie was remembering even more now.

"Remember the girl that was with her? Tall, really thin? We both thought that she was dressed for the part, but not really working, more like just being there?"

Lula grunted. She had wondered what the world was coming to. If you were there, you were prepared to work, if not, move on.

Stephanie continued.

"Did you ever see her before or since, because I just saw a picture and it looks like her, Lula. If it is, she is Junkman's younger sister. I wonder why she is in town?"

Lula turned off the tv and thought about it.

"Tank told me you had another stalker. He did not mention whether it was male or female, but I wonder if it could be related. I think you should tell Ranger or Tank. They are checking out leads but this one could head them in the right direction."

Stephanie had a bad feeling. If someone from Junkman's family was looking for revenge, they would know that she lived in Trenton. Her face and reputation was certainly recognizable.

She tried to relax. That had been a couple of years ago and maybe it was a coincidence.

Lula came on the line again. "Stephanie, you need to tell someone. This is not the time to play around and go into denial land. He was really powerful and had a lot of backing. If this person is who you say she is, well, White Girl, ya might be in for a mess o' trouble."

Stephanie sat shaking on the counter. That had been a very, very scary time in her life. She had almost died at the hands of Junkman and the Slayers. Time was supposed to heal all wounds, but that memory had still elicited nightmares to this day.

Stephanie gave a shuddering breath. It was time to pass on the file. She was safe in the building and the guys would know what to do with the information.

"I'm getting the information together and passing it on. This is way bigger than me, Lula. I want nothing more to do with it."

She spoke again. "You watch yourself out there. I am getting a spidey feeling here and I hope it is just what I just told you."

Lula pondered her next remark.

"Imma doing a drop later tonight. I told Morelli and he wants to wire me up. If we can get it done, then I can at least figure out my options. Morelli told me when we met that all the help I can give them will look good when the case is complete."

Stephanie took a shaky breath. This part could be really dangerous. She tried to relax. Taking a few breaths she spoke.

"I want you to promise me that you won't do anything stupid or heroic. Do the drop and get out. Leave the heavy stuff to the police, Lula. You don't need to be a hero here."

Lula grunted over the phone. Her options were limited.

"I'mma not looking to be a hero here, but I need to help out. I can't believe I was stupid enough to not see through it. I'mma gonna do what I can. I'll phone ya after I'm done."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Stephanie was looking at her notes. Something was off but she could not put her finger on it.

She took the folder with the papers to Ranger's office to talk to him about it. She needed a second opinion.

His door was closed. Stephanie knocked softly on the door and waited.

Les was walking by on his crutches. He looked like he was moving a bit better today.

"Ranger and Tank took off somewhere, Beautiful. Did you need something?"

Les had stopped and leaned on the crutches waiting for an answer.

"I was going to give Ranger this information on something I was working on, but if he is away, I will see him later, I guess," murmured Stephanie.

She looked at him.

"How's that leg coming Les?"

He sighed and looked a bit crestfallen.

"It will be awhile before I am back to full duty, I am afraid. And, of course, when I am back, I get to meet Ranger on the mats for being stupid and not aware of my surroundings."

Stephanie nodded in sympathy.

~~~o0o~~~

Flashback

He and Bobby had been nightclubbing and Les had tried to pick up a girl, not realizing that she was currently waiting for her boyfriend to show up. Les had leaned against the bar and was talking her up, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He had turned around to find a behemoth of a man standing behind him looking rather pissed off that Les was talking to his girlfriend. Words were spoken and after Les apologized for his mistake, he and Bobby had prepared to leave.

They had not noticed that the man had left the bar and was waiting for them outside. Bobby was just a few steps behind Les and came upon the man preparing to knife Les in the back. He had managed to turn around and block the first knife strike but as Bobby came out and attempted to help, the man had fallen and knifed Les in the leg.

Bobby had promptly stunned him and as he lay crumpled in the road, Bobby was on the ground trying to stem the blood flowing from the wound. He had an ugly gash from his outer thigh to a few inches higher than the knee, probably about 6 inches in length.

Bobby had immediately called for an ambulance and as he was attending to Les, a black Rangeman vehicle had arrived. Woody and his new partner, Josh had quickly flipped the large man over and handcuffed him, waiting for the police to arrive. The girlfriend had come out and was causing a scene with her screaming and threatening to charge them all with assault.

Bobby had taken off with Les in the ambulance and left Woody to straighten out the mess.

Hours later, Bobby had escorted Les back to Rangeman and assisted him to his apartment to rest. He had refused the hospital suite, citing his bed was bigger and more comfortable than the hospital bed.

Ranger had arrived at Les's door as he was getting settled.

Ranger had given him one of his trademark blank stares, but never said a word, knowing that he was under heavy pain killers. He had made sure to check with him again the next day, putting him on disability, and at the same time promising him a mat session for stupidity when he had healed sufficiently to appreciate the lesson.

End Flashback

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie looked at the folder in her hand. She looked at Les and shrugged.

"If you think it is OK, I will put this on his desk so he can see it when he comes in. I think that two sets of eyes are better than one, and he might pick up on something I missed."

She opened the door and walked in, placing the folder prominently on the desk, then retreated and closing the door once again.

Les watched her walk away. He could tell that there was something bothering her. He shrugged and walked away.

Stephanie headed to the elevator. It was almost 8 pm and she was hungry. She assumed that Ella had already been and gone and the evening meal would be warming in the oven.

Stephanie walked into the apartment and headed to the bathroom. She wanted a shower.

Stripping off her clothes quickly, she jumped in and proceeded to scrub the day away. After washing her hair she proceeded to shave all the important places.

Stephanie stopped in mid swipe. She had remembered that Junkman's personal bodyguards had worn Mohawks.

She jumped out of the shower, and changed quickly back into her clothes. Putting her hair up into a messy ponytail, she dashed out of the apartment and not taking the time to wait for the elevator, flew down the stairs.

She headed for Ranger's office, once again knocking. There was still no answer, and once again, she carefully opened the door, then walked in reaching for the folder. She stood by the desk with the folder now laying down on the top, and quickly started to flip through the pages, looking for her answer.

Her hand stopped flipping the pages.

There was a short article from the Tampa newspaper stating that there had been a successful drug bust of a shipment destined for the eastern seaboard. Unfortunately, the DEA had not been successful in capturing all the persons wanted and they had published a list of names wanted for questioning.

Details were sketchy on some of the wanted but a few were described as sporting dreads and two were reported to have massive Mohawk hairdo's.

Stephanie quickly scrolled down the list with her finger, stopping at one name. Julie Donovan.

Julie was suspected of masterminding the attempted drug shipment and had disappeared, possibly to the Miami area. There was an APB out for her with a detailed description of her attached and a rough sketch.

Stephanie looked at the artist's sketch. It strongly resembled the woman standing on the corner that day. Hmmm, Julie Donovan. June Driedger. Same initials, same MO, same a lot of things.

Stephanie picked up her phone to call Joe.

His phone went right to voice mail and she left a quick message.

"Joe, this is Stephanie. By any chance are you looking for a June Driedger? She matches a case in Tampa a short time ago. Call me back when you can, and be careful."

She then pressed end and then pressed send and Lula's number. It rang and rang. Stephanie waited for it to also go to voice mail.

"Lula, this is Stephanie. Be very careful tonight. Something is off and I need you to call me."

Stephanie hung up. She began to pace the office. One of them should be phoning very soon.

She looked at the phone for the time. It was 9 on the nose, the time that Lula and Joe would be meeting behind the donut shop.

Stephanie knew that something was wrong but she could not put her finger on it.

Her phone rang. She turned it over in her hand and pressed 'send'.

The voice on the line spoke.

"Hello Stephanie. Do you know who this is?" Stephanie looked at the incoming number.

"Who are you and what are you doing with this phone?"

There was a cruel laugh on the other line.

"I think that you will figure it out soon enough. Just so that you know, I have a couple of friends of yours. Say hi to them."

Stephanie could hear a grunt of pain and then she heard a rustle.

"Cupcake, don't do it."

Stephanie could hear Joe groan as she heard a thud. She heard another sound as another hit landed. She could hear Joe groan again and swear.

Stephanie listened as she could hear repeated punches hitting their mark and more groans of pain.

Her hands clenched in anger. Someone she loved was being hurt because of her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The female voice came back on the line.

"Well, that was fun, but I have someone else who wants to talk to you."

Stephanie's jaw clenched. She heard Lula scream.

She heard Lula let out a string of curses the which she had never heard come out of her mouth.

"You touch me again, asshole and you will regret it for the rest of your miserable life. When my Tankie finishes with you, you will be a teeny, tiny grease spot on the ground."

Again she heard the person speak.

"We are fair, your freedom for theirs. We know you are holed up in the building, but we feel confident that you can get out somehow. Everyone talks about your ability to slip your bodyguards. Well, here's your chance. We will be waiting at the location. I am sure you remember it. I don't need to caution you to come alone. I have a lookout outside your building, watching. You have a half hour."

There was a dial tone.

Stephanie looked at the time. It was 9:15 p.m.

If Ranger or Tank had been here she could tell them, but there was no time to plan.

Stephanie looked down. There were four Fed Ex envelopes ready to be delivered downstairs for pick-up sitting on Ranger's desk.

Thinking quickly, Stephanie grabbed them, then stopped at her desk. She filled her pocket with a stun gun, and her panic button. There was no room for anything else.

She headed to the elevator and pressed the button for down.

The elevator door opened and she stepped in. She pressed one and the door closed and the elevator rode smoothly down.

Her heart was beating loudly and she could just imagine that whoever was manning the desk would hear it.

She stepped out, holding the envelopes in one hand and the stun gun in the other under the envelopes.

Hal was manning the desk. He looked up at her as the door opened.

Stephanie slowed down coming out. She couldn't do it to Hal again. She just couldn't.

Stephanie reached behind her and placed her stun gun in the small of her back, held by the waistband on her uniform cargoes.

She walked to the desk and handed the four envelopes to Hal. He was looking at her suspiciously and she spoke.

"Hal, Ranger wanted these brought down for Fed Ex to pick up. They are coming in awhile and I offered to bring them down."

He was looking at her suspiciously and he kept his eyes on her hands as he accepted the envelopes. He could see both hands and no stun gun and he smiled and relaxed.

"Thanks Steph. I will make sure they get out."

He watched as she headed back into the elevator. She closed the door and thinking quickly pressed two. The elevator stopped and she got out. Nobody was in the hallway, and slinking along the wall, she sidled to the fire alarm.

She said a prayer for forgiveness, reached out and pulled the handle.

The alarm immediately sounded throughout the building and there was the sound of running boots.

Stephanie had been in the meeting where Tank had outlined the new procedures in case of a fire. Her job was to secure the gun room in the basement and open the garage door to allow Rangeman vehicles to evacuate and fire personnel to arrive.

She ran down the stairs with the men and to the door to the weapons room, checking that it was locked. She moved to the emergency button on the garage door and hit the button with her palm watching as it slowly lifted.

Stephanie took one look around and ran out, crouching to get away before the door completely opened.

She ran onto the street and hailed a cab driving past. Jumping in, she told him the address. He looked at her with fearful eyes, but she pulled the stun gun from behind her and levelled it at him. It was a harmless gesture but obviously he had no idea that for it to work, the gun had to be touching flesh.

He turned around and drove away from the building.

She watched as the cabbie drove down the street. He kept taking furtive glances at her through the rear view mirror, almost hoping that she would change her mind and send him to another address.

He watched as she kept looking at her watch, then looking around. She appeared scared, but he could see her lips moving silently as if she was willing herself to be brave.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie's phone rang with the Batman theme song.

Ranger was on the line.

She opened the phone.

"Babe, where are you?"

Stephanie took a breath.

"Look on your desk, Ranger. I need to help two friends in trouble. Please believe me when I say I really do love you, but I have to do this."

She pressed end and sat back.

**Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Oops, forgot to mention again that JE owns these amazing characters.**

Chapter 19

Stephanie's phone rang again, but she did not answer it, letting it go to voice mail. She knew who was on the line and knew that if she answered Ranger would try to dissuade her from what she needed to do.

Unfortunately, she had a bad feeling that what she was heading into might not turn out very well, but she had to try. Her friends were in danger because of her.

She contemplated turning it off, but she knew that they could track the phone. Rangeman might find her body if it went really, really badly.

The driver pulled up and stopped. Stephanie asked him for a pen and she quickly wrote a note then handed the pen and a card to him.

"Take this back to Rangeman and you will be paid. And thank you."

She climbed out of the car and it sped away.

Stephanie took a deep breath and walked toward the once again freshly painted circle. The crowd opened up a hole and June was waiting inside. She waved her closer.

Stephanie took a deep breath for courage and walked toward her.

She could see Joe and Lula leaning against each other bound hand and foot and gags in their mouths. Joe looked very battered and bruised. Lula looked disheveled but Stephanie noticed right away that a large lock of hair was missing from one side of her head. She could only guess where it was headed to. She could feel the circle closing behind her and she stood looking at Junkman's baby sister.

June was dressed in gang attire and Stephanie immediately recognized the vest. Norman Carver had been wearing it the night she had been kidnapped and brought here. She remembered very clearly when he had pulled the hoodie he had been wearing over his head revealing the vest with all the patches.

She clenched her fists by her pocket and subtly pressed against the panic button. She hoped that someone would arrive in time, at least to rescue Joe and Lula. She kept the stun gun in her pocket. It would be useless in a crowd.

Jane spoke.

"I figured you would know where to meet. I congratulate you on managing to escape. While I would like to kill you myself, I believe there are some people here who have unfinished business and I arranged for them to come here. I must admit, they sounded excited at my invitation."

She paused and looked around.

"The rules are the same. Step or be pushed outside the circle and you are theirs for whatever they want to do to you. I, unfortunately have to leave. I have business to attend to, but let me say that it has been a pleasure meeting you and I hope that you remember whatever fear you have right now is because of what you did to my brother and his colleagues.

If you take down one opponent, another will take his place. Go outside the line and the contest is terminated but anybody and everybody can take you on."

She paused again, and an evil smile came over her face.

"I could say have fun, but I don't think it will be fun at all, at least for you."

With that, June walked out of the circle and climbed into the back seat of a car which then sped off.

Stephanie looked around. She had been taking self-defense training from the guys at Rangeman and hoped that she could hold them off for a while. She assumed a defensive pose in the middle and waited, watching.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger and Tank arrived back to Rangeman to find fire engines and fire fighters surrounding the building. The Battalion Chief was talking to Les and he was nodding.

Ranger strode up to the small group and introduced himself.

"Ricardo Carlos Manoso, I own Rangeman."

The Chief was still miffed as he turned to look at him. He handed over some papers and prepared to leave.

"The fire alarm was activated from the second floor. We arrived in three minutes and checked the panel. It was showing no heat source. We disabled the alarm and Mr. Santos advised me that as per your procedure, the building has been cleared and checked."

He paused.

"I assume that you will be conducting your own investigation into the mishap. As you know, this false alarm unnecessarily jeopardized our personnel and brought us to what appears to have been a non-emergency situation."

Ranger nodded.

"I assure you, whoever pulled that alarm will be answering to me, personally and will be dealt with appropriately."

The Chief nodded and walked back to a truck, climbed in and they pulled away.

Ranger looked at Les.

"Report", He barked.

Les stood as straight as he could with the crutches.

"As per stated procedures, we instituted Plan FireFox. The building was cleared of non emergency personnel and mustered in the parking lot across the street. Each floor was checked by the duty officers. The monitoring stations were shut down and moved to the secondary location as per procedure. The weapons room is locked and secure."

Les looked at Ranger. He hesitated.

Ranger stared.

"Continue."

Les gulped.

"Roll call was administered and it appears that Beautiful is missing. I sent in Manny and he specifically checked seven in case she was up there and didn't hear the alarms for some reason."

Ranger looked at Les.

"Who was on the front desk?"

Les checked his list.

"Hal was on duty."

Ranger pulled out his phone and dialed and Hal answered.

"Sir."

Range spoke into the phone.

"Did you see Stephanie just before the fire alarm went off?"

Hal gulped.

"Yes sir. She brought down the four Fed Ex envelopes she said were to go. She handed them to me and headed back up in the elevator."

Ranger spoke again.

"And how long after she left did the fire alarm go off?"

Hal thought. "Maybe a minute, sir?"

Ranger hung up.

Tank came up behind them and stood by. He had been talking to the men.

"Nobody saw Stephanie arrive here, but she is in charge of securing the weapons room and opening the garage door, and it was activated from the inside."

Ranger nodded. "Check the outside cameras and see how she left."

Tank nodded and stepped away.

Les was still standing by.

"Uh Ranger, I just remembered. She had a folder of papers in her hand and wanted to show them to you. I found her by your door and she said that she knocked but there was no answer and she wondered if she should walk in and put it on your desk. She said that two sets of eyes were better than one."

Ranger nodded. He too had seen her working on something other than Rangeman business. He pulled out his phone and pressed a button.

He heard the phone engage.

"Babe, where are you?"

He waited as Stephanie gathered herself to answer.

"Look on your desk, Ranger. I need to help two friends in trouble. Please believe me when I say I really do love you, but I have to do this."

Stephanie hung up. Ranger re-dialed the number but it rang and rang until it went to voice mail. He left her a message, but he could feel his heart clench in fear.

He raced into the building and headed up to his office.

There lying on his desk was a large file folder of papers.

Tank was right behind him and they flipped the folder open.

Inside were newspaper articles, pictures, and reams of paper, most with yellow highlighter marks and earmarked drawing attention to a piece of information.

Tank looked at Ranger. They had both come to the same conclusion.

Ranger took out his phone and dialed. The phone rang then went to voice mail. Ranger left a message.

"Morelli, call me."

He hung up.

Tank was on the line to Lula. He let it ring but it also went to voice mail. He too left a message.

"Lula, baby, please call me. It's important."

They went back to reading. It appeared that Stephanie had tied the Tampa drug supply problems to Trenton and it looked like she had found a Julie Donovan under an APB.

Ranger remembered the note from Molly, and she had said June Driedger. Well, the initials were the same, the same MO, and there were too many similar characteristics.

Ranger pulled out his phone again. He dialed another number.

"Chief, this is Ranger Manoso. By any chance have you seen Morelli lately? I am looking for him and he does not answer his phone. Really? I think that he might have come into some difficulty from some information I have just been given. Yes. I have a name. June Driedger or Julie Donovan. It might tie into the problems in Tampa. Yes, I will advise you if I come across more. Thank you sir."

Ranger hung up.

Tank was looking a bit sallow. He pointed to one article and Ranger began to read.

They looked at each other.

Ranger spoke.

"I wonder."

They raced to the door and down the stairs.

Ranger pulled out his phone as he climbed into his Porsche. Tank had run to his Hummer.

The monitoring station answered.

Ranger spoke as he was putting on his seatbelt.

"I need all units currently on patrol to head to Compton Street . The playground. Advise Bobby to attend with his go-to pack."

Junior was on the monitors.

"Ranger, Stephanie's panic button just went off. It shows her on Compton Street."

Junior hung up without saying more.

The Porsche was flying down the road and Ranger's heart was in his throat.

If this woman was Junkman's sister, she would be out for revenge. He assumed that she was behind the stalker incidents on Stephanie. They had checked all the usual leads and nothing had developed. He had almost been ready to assume that the danger was passed but this new information was very troubling.

If this was Junkman's sister, she would have nothing to lose and everything to gain in getting rid of Stephanie. The file had stated that she had assumed the helm of the Road Kings as their new cleaner.

He pulled out his phone again.

He phoned the main number of the Trenton Police Department.

"Duty Desk, this is Ranger Manoso. I am in possession of information that there is an altercation about to happen at the playground on Compton Street. Please send emergency personnel for a gangland killing that may involve a large number of people."

He hung up.

He came around the corner and sped to the scene and noticed a number of black vehicles also driving up.

Ranger counted at least eight men who had jumped out of the vehicles and were running toward a large group of people standing around and cheering. They were in time to see someone get pulled into the crowd and an excited frenzy begin to build.

The men waded into the mass of people. Ranger and Tank also headed for the excited mass and they could see the top of a brown haired curly headed person fighting. She was outnumbered but she was still on her feet.

They fought their way to her.

Stephanie was battered and bruised and she didn't recognize them as a friend. She was fighting with all her might, as if her life depended on it.

Ranger took down an assailant who was trying to rip her shirt off. Tank picked up another punk and threw him physically into the crowd. A number of the mob had now drawn knives and the glint from the blades shone dully from the playground lights.

There were grunts of pain and slowly the assailants began to fall back. Some had already been immobilized and snap ties administered to wrists and ankles. Those still free could hear sirens in the distance and quickly moved to fade into the darkened playground.

As Cal and Caesar moved up to flank him, Ranger was finally able to wrap his arms around Stephanie but she tried to fight him off. He was forced to sweep her feet out from under her and as she fell to the ground, she cried out in terror. He fell to his knees and tried to cradle her in his arms, but she had covered her head with her arms in a defensive move and her legs were pulled up against her chest.

Ranger spoke to her. He spoke to her softly but his voice came through as if he too was in pain.

"Babe, it's me. Babe, you are safe now. Babe, please listen to me, you are safe. We received your panic signal and everything's fine. You are safe, Lula is safe and Morelli is safe. Babe, you are safe."

He tried again to put his hand on her back, rubbing it up and down slowly, trying to calm her as she shook in terror.

Stephanie stilled her movements, almost unwilling to believe that she was hearing Ranger's voice so close to her. She allowed him to take her by her arms and assist her to her feet as he put his arms around her, murmuring to her that she was safe. She could feel his strong heart beat as she leaned against his chest and she smelled his Bulgarie.

Stephanie started to sob and shake in his arms.

Bobby had arrived and made his way to Morelli and Lula. He cut the restraints off both Lula and Joe and was patching cuts and checking for major injuries.

Lula was in Tank's arms and she was sobbing in fear. He was holding her tightly and rubbing his hand up and down her back, talking to her softly in her ear.

Joe tried to stand, but weaved a bit as Bobby helped him up. His face looked like he had sustained a lot of punishment. His lip was cut and bleeding but his eyes were almost swollen shut, and beginning to exhibit signs from his once again broken nose. He grimaced in pain and held his hand to his side.

Stephanie continued to tremble and Bobby stepped over and shook out an emergency blanket to wrap around her. Ranger finished tucking it around her and picking her up, he carried her to the Porsche.

Black and whites converged on the scene and it was controlled confusion as those trussed up were escorted away and statements taken.

Eddie walked over to the car, making sure that he was in Stephanie's line of sight. He nodded to Ranger as he stopped and waited by the passenger door.

Ranger stepped out and walked around to the passenger door, opening it and crouching down.

"Babe, Eddie needs a short statement. After he is done, we are heading back to Rangeman. I will phone Ella and she can draw a warm bath for you and have something for you to eat."

Stephanie still had that haunted look on her face. She nodded and prepared to step out, holding the blanket against her. Most of her hair had pulled out of the ponytail except for a small piece enclosed by a scrunchie on the side of her head by her left ear. Her clothes were torn and looking down she vowed that at her first opportunity she was dumping them in the trash, never to be seen again.

Eddie was using gentle movements as he slowly reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out and flipped open his notebook. He could see that any sudden movement could put her over the edge. He stayed far enough away from her that she would not feel threatened by a loss of personal space right now.

"Stephanie, sweetie, can you give me an idea what happened?"

He listened and watched as she gathered herself.

"I got a call on Joe's phone, Eddie. This voice said that if I wanted to save Joe and Lula I had to get out of the building and I would know where to come. She said that she would trade them for me. She said that there was a lookout to make sure I got out alone and didn't bring anybody.

I left a folder of information for Ranger to look at. I saw some Fed Ex envelopes needing to be taken down to the main lobby for pick up and took them down.

I had my stun gun, but I just could not stun Hal again. I know that he is still living it down, so I just left them with him and headed back into the elevator."

She was talking to Ranger but looking at Eddie. He needed to know why she had disobeyed his order to not leave the building alone.

She continued and her voice began to grow stronger. Ranger could see she was trying to pull herself together. Her mental armor was beginning to re-appear.

"I was given only half an hour to get here, and all I could think of was to pull the fire alarm, hoping that in the confusion I could make my escape.

I hailed a cab and directed him to here."

I didn't have my purse, but I had a Rangeman business card in my pocket and I wrote a note to take back to Rangeman and someone would pay the cabbie. I'm sorry, Ranger. I will pay you back."

Ranger shook his head. She would never see that bill.

Stephanie continued.

"I got here and there were so many standing around the circle. I had a memory flash back to the Slayers, but seeing Joe and Lula beaten up and sitting tied up in the middle of the circle, I knew that I had to get back into the circle and face them.

She was Junkman's sister and was wearing his old gang vest. She said that the contest would continue, and the people there were all invited from the last time. They had already drawn who was to face me, and the rules were the same. I was in the middle and if I could defeat one, then the next one was coming in the circle. If they managed to toss me out of the circle I was fair game for anyone and everyone to take me on at once."

Ranger's heart was breaking. She had willingly volunteered herself to save her friends.

By now, tears were falling, and she was shaking again.

Ranger wrapped her in his strong arms and whispered in her ear.

"I pressed the panic button, hoping that you would get here in time to at least save Joe and Lula."

Ranger looked at Eddie and he nodded. He had enough for his report and moved away.

Ranger continued to hold Stephanie and let her cry herself out. He hardly noticed that her tears had soaked his shirt. She slumped against him and he picked her up and set her back in the car.

Tank was still holding Lula in his arms and Joe was talking to Eddie.

Joe walked over to the car and Ranger stepped back.

Joe spoke even though he had trouble forming his words. He hoped he did not have a damaged jaw. His voice slurred a bit as he spoke.

"Cupcake, you were so fucking brave there, standing up to all of them. I'm glad that you have been getting some training."

He turned to Ranger.

"Is it possible to obtain the folder of the information she collected. The Task Force could use it and I know that we are really close to shutting this operation down. I am hoping that the parties will be greedy and not scatter after tonight."

Ranger nodded.

"I'll have it delivered to you as soon as I get back."

Joe walked away stiffly and was guided to a squad car for a trip to the hospital for observation.

Ranger sat in the driver's seat and pulled away. Stephanie had already fallen asleep cuddled in the blanket.

He looked over at her and groaned to himself.

He had almost lost her again!

How many times was this going to happen before her luck ran out.

**A/N – you thought this story was ended; worry on! June left.**

**Myrna**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. That is our only payment other than the enjoyment we take from writing. **

**And now...**

Chapter 20

Ranger drove into the garage with Stephanie beside him. Tank was right behind with Lula.

Ranger picked up a still-sleeping Stephanie and carried her to the elevator, pressing his key fob to take them directly up to seven.

He walked into the apartment and Ella was waiting. She led the way to the bedroom where there was already a black t shirt and panties waiting on the bed.

Ranger could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen.

He gently set Stephanie on the bed and proceeded to start removing her shoes and socks. She stirred and her eyes opened.

"I want a shower, Ranger."

He helped her to sit up, and she unsteadily walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He could hear the shower turn on and the door close.

Ella stood by watching with interest as Ranger appeared unsure what to do next.

"I can keep an eye on her until she gets out, Ranger, if you need to do something downstairs."

He looked at his aunt and shook his head.

"I need to be near her, Ella. I cannot explain it, but I just have to."

Ella looked at her nephew. She knew he liked to keep things bottled in. He always had which is what made him such a good soldier, but, he needed to speak too. She wondered if he had ever really told Stephanie his true feelings about her.

Ella nodded in understanding. She patted him on the arm as she left the room, then walking out the apartment, closing the door softly.

Ranger stayed by the door listening. He was listening for … he wasn't sure what but he felt the need to be there for her.

His ears picked up what he perceived to be crying, and without even thinking about it, he turned the knob and rushed in. Ranger could see her outline crumpled on the shower floor and without delay, he quickly stripped and opened the door of the shower.

Inside he found that she was crouched in the far corner of the shower, with the water pounding down around her, her shoulders shaking as she wept. Ranger reached down and lifted her up to hold her against his chest.

He had his arms encircling her and he began to whisper soft words in Spanish in her ear. Her arms slowly reached up and hugged him around his neck and she continued to cry.

They stood that way when she finally took a shuddering breath and looked up at him. Her face was tear stained and her eyes were red and puffy. She looked a mess and he loved her even more.

"Thanks, Ranger. For everything. For saving me once again. For being my super hero and rescuing me."

Ranger looked down at the woman he loved more than life and kissing her on the top of the head, spoke.

"No price, Babe. Remember that there is no price ever to keep you safe."

Ranger grimaced. It would have been the perfect time to tell her his true feelings.

He turned off the shower and gently guided her out of the shower. Ella had left large bath towels on the vanity by the shower and grabbing one, he gently dried her off, surreptitiously checking for bruises and open wounds. He could tell by the way she was already grimacing that she was going to be very stiff and sore tomorrow.

He wrapped another large towel around her, tucking in the ends, then grabbing another, he quickly dried off and wrapped one around his waist.

He picked her up once again, and walking out, headed for the side of the bed. He set her down by the t-shirt and panties.

"Here Babe. Get dressed and come on out to the kitchen. I know that Ella left you something to eat."

He marched into his closet and came out only wearing a pair of sweats and walked out of the room.

Stephanie took her time getting dressed. She was beginning to stiffen up and it hurt to even pull the shirt over her head and put her arms through the arm holes.

Stephanie headed to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She had come in with the intention of trying to control her hair into some kind of manageable state, but she stood with the brush in her hand and looked at her face.

She had a number of scuffs and bruises on her cheeks but it was her eyes she was staring back at.

Even to her they had a fearful look.

She set to work trying to untangle the knots. Finally, she had worked it enough that she could put it in a messy ponytail with a scrunchie and walked back out to the bedroom.

She could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen so headed out the door, almost knocking into Ranger. He grabbed her as she began to fall backwards.

"I've got you, Babe." he said.

They looked at each other. That one sentence had conveyed more than either of them could hope to realize.

Ranger cleared his throat as he continued to hold her.

"Babe, I am not very good at revealing emotions, as you probably know."

Stephanie lifted her eyes up, with a pretend look of horror. Really?

He shook his head. He was determined to do this now.

"Babe, Stephanie, I almost lost you tonight and I don't really know if you understand how much I love you. Yes, in my own way, but it's my way and up until now I thought that love and expressing love were best left silent and shown through assisting and lending, and helping."

He gently caressed his hands up and down her arms, as much to touch her as to think.

"When you told me you loved me, I realized that I had never told you to your face that I love you with all my heart. Babe, I could have lost you tonight and you might never have known what you mean to me!"

Ranger stopped again. His voice had taken on an almost anguished tone.

Stephanie grimaced as she lifted her arms up and around his neck. She pulled his head down to hers and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Ranger, we are both pretty emotionally stunted. You speak of love with assistance and I think of love with food! How bad is that? Someday we will get this talking thing going on and spell it out, but right now I can smell something really good and I'm starved!"

Stephanie wriggled out of his arms and turned to the kitchen.

Neither of them were ready to take it any further, but at least they both knew that their thoughts for each other were on the same page.

Ranger guided her gently to the kitchen being very careful not to put any pressure on any part of her body. He could see that her strength was waning and her stiffness was increasing. He wondered if he should contact Bobby for another one of those pills.

Bobby had quickly checked her over back at the playground and other than scrapes and bruises, she had come through the experience in pretty good shape. Bobby had looked at her with concern though. He was more concerned with her mental well-being at the present time but she seemed to be coping well. He would be checking on her later.

Stephanie looked at him as she carefully sat down on the stool by the counter.

"Don't even think about slipping me any more of those pills, Ranger. I'm so on to you and I blamed Bobby when, in fact, it was you who ordered him to give me them."

Ranger had the grace to look a bit chagrined.

She perked up at the plate in front of her. Ella had prepared lasagna and either she had checked with her mother what she liked in it, or had figured out Stephanie's favorite ingredients.

The layers were filled with lots of Italian sausage and marinara sauce with a very generous helping of cheeses throughout. To top off the meal, there were crispy white Italian rolls with decorative dots of butter on the side.

Stephanie dug in. She realized as she was chewing appreciably that she had not stopped for supper and it was almost midnight.

She ate until her plate was empty, stilling the desire to lick the plate clean.

Ranger had set a bottle of water by her plate and watched in amazement as she polished off the huge portion. He had snacked on some vegetables as he watched.

She finally pushed away the plate and leaned back.

She needed to talk to Ranger before she fell asleep while it was still fresh in her mind.

"I'm not sure how much Lula has told you about her troubles. It seems that she was coerced into carrying drugs by a friend. I made her contact Joe and he has spelled out the ramifications of her actions. I give him credit on not saying that he can get her off, and although she is petrified of the consequences of her actions, she wants to help to get these scum bags off the street."

She looked at him, and although his face was calm, she could detect a slight tightening of his jaw. He already knew what was happening. Stephanie wondered if Joe had passed on some of the information already and that Rangeman and TPD might be passing information to each other.

Ranger cleared his throat.

"Morelli demanded that we turn over the file you collected to them as soon as we got back. I had the file copied and the original was dropped off just a short while ago."

He was giving nothing away.

Stephanie sat and digested that piece of information. While it was a relief that Joe would make sure that it was kept confidential, she lamented the fact that not only Lula was involved in this. Now, Rangeman had been dragged in also, and she was blaming herself for possibly getting them both into trouble.

Stephanie had begun to believe that if she had contacted Lula more often, that she might have swayed her from taking the unusual step of helping out her friend in need.

If she had been around, she might have seen it for what it was worth much sooner and hopefully changed the path they were now on.

Ranger could see that she was starting to put the blame for this mess squarely in her lap.

He reached over and grasped her hand, making her still her thoughts and concentrate on what he was saying.

"Stephanie, you cannot blame yourself for what is and has happened. Lula is a grown woman and should have noticed something was out of the ordinary much, much sooner. And, as a matter of fact, the fact that you were targetted also means that you have been on her radar for quite some time. June was obviously out for revenge and the fact that the drug availability is suddenly increasing only lends itself to the fact that she is only interested in revenge because she was in the neighborhood. I firmly believe that if she were in another part of the country, this would never have occurred."

Stephanie was not sure that she would ever admit it happening that way, but she was too tired to argue about it right now.

She looked at the clock on the microwave. It was well after midnight.

She slid a leg down from the stool and carefully stood up. Her muscles were continuing to complain and she looked at Ranger.

"I really need to lie down, Ranger. Everything is aching."

He walked around to her side and pulled her into his arms again.

"Then let's get you to bed, Babe."

She looked at him, and a smile peeked out.

"OK, honey, but I am just letting you know that I have a really bad headache."

Ranger laughed his first belly laugh in some time.

"Noted, Babe."

They headed to the bedroom and closed the door.

Ranger walked her to her side of the bed and drew down the covers as she sat gratefully on the edge.

He watched as she leaned back and her head lay on the pillow. He covered her up and walked around to the other side of the bed. By the time he had divested himself of the sweats and climbed into bed, he could see that she was already asleep.

He pulled her gently to him and wrapped his arms around her. She sighed in her sleep. She felt safe.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank brought Lula to his apartment. He gently guided her into his apartment, closing the door softly.

Lula jumped in spite of herself. She was still jumpy from the stress of the past few hours.

He held her as she unsteadily leaned over to undue her boots. She had already dropped her jacket on the chair by the door.

In spite of her initial nervousness she took a moment to look around. This was the first time she had been in his apartment and it might be the last. She noticed that it had an almost barren or barracks look. There were few personal momentos or signs around.

On the coffee table was a neat pile of what looked like Soldier of Fortune magazines. She headed to the kitchen for a drink. Tank followed her and watched as she looked at the neat and tidy space. He did not do a lot of cooking there, preferring Ella's up in the break room, but if he felt the need to or wanted to, he was quite a proficient cook. He had proven it to Lula a few times, bringing her a personally prepared meal to her place.

Lula was starting to look exhausted. It was near midnight.

Tank led her to the bathroom and put some big, fluffy towels on the vanity.

"Lula Belle, if you want a shower, feel free. Rangeman has a boiler and I don't think you will run out of hot water any time soon."

He watched as she eyed the shower stall. Like most apartments, there was no bathtub, only an oversized shower in each suite.

He backed out of the room, closing the door softly.

He could hear her turn on the shower and then the door closed.

Tank pulled the phone out of its holder and dialed the control room.

"Until further notice, Ranger and I are offline. Santos is in charge."

He hung up.

Lula took her time showering. She wanted to scrub off the events of the evening as much as get clean, but eventually she turned off the water. She was falling asleep under the powerful spray.

She opened the door and picked up a towel. They were very large and oh, so very fluffy and soft. Deep down, she wished she had an Ella to help her.

She started to sniffle, then the tears fell until she was leaning against the bathroom wall, crying and hiccuping.

The door opened and Tank rushed in and took her in his arms and started to comfort her, whispering in her ear that she was safe now and he would let nothing happen to her.

That only made her cry even more.

"How can you say that? I'm going to get arrested and spend the rest of my life in jail for being stupid. I could not even protect Stephanie and for all I know I have put her in danger too."

Tank held her to his chest and murmured that she would bounce with whatever happened. She had bounced before and had come back stronger than ever and he would try to assist wherever he could.

Eventually she sagged in his arms, and picking her up like she was a young child, he carried her to his bedroom and set her on the side of the bed.

"Lula, honey, please don't worry your head over this. We will take it one day at a time."

He assisted her as she lay down in the bed and he covered her up. Walking around to the other side, he quickly undressed and climbed in beside her. He pulled her to himself and cradling her in his strong, loving arms they both fell asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

**JE may have her bevy of lawyers on retainer, but I have Jason Jamieson. He's mine, mine, mine!**

Chapter 21

Eddie was waiting in the waiting room of the hospital ER for Joe to appear. He came out with a number of small bandages on his face and arms, covering the stitches.

He moved slowly to Eddie and shook his hand.

"Thanks for waiting for me. I know you are off shift and you could have gone home."

Eddie nodded at the relieved tone. He had taken the squad car back to the station, and picked up his own personal vehicle, returning to the ER to wait.

They walked out of the hospital and climbed into the van. Eddie was a true sports dad. His three boys were all heavily involved in all kinds of sports and the Gazarra van was always heading to a game, year round.

Eddie drove Joe to his house. He watched as Joe slowly stepped out of the vehicle and moved carefully to the front door, his keys in his hand. He waited until Joe had opened the door and turned on the lights before he pulled away.

Joe headed inside, readying himself to accept Bob's boisterous greeting. While he would have preferred a less rambunctious hello he was happy that there was someone to greet him at the door.

He thought of Tank with Lula, and Ranger with Stephanie. His heart ached. He had Bob.

He and Abigail had parted ways a few days prior to then. She didn't like his strange hours and his secrecy what he was doing. They fit together well and the sex was great, but there was something missing. He knew, deep in his heart that it was Stephanie, but it appeared that he had missed his final chance.

It appeared that in her eyes, he was first loser.

Joe headed to the kitchen for a cold beer. He opened the back door and Bob ran out to do his business then back in. Joe opened the fridge and took out a beer. He twisted off the top and took a long swallow. He didn't have the energy to take it into the living room to finish it but stood at the counter draining the last bit.

He put the empty bottle on the counter by the recycling bin and walked out of the room, turning off the lights on the way.

He made sure the door was locked and turned off the lights before grabbing the handrail, pulling himself up the stairs to his bedroom.

He looked at the shower on the way, but feeling too tired to do anything about it, shucked his jeans and shirt on the floor, then sat down heavily on the bed.

Bob jumped up on the bed and watched, waiting for Joe to stop moving before he settled down himself.

Joe turned off the light by the bed and pulling the covers over himself, he was asleep practically as his head hit the pillow.

He never felt Bob put his large head on Joe's leg and sigh.

~~~o0o~~~~

Morning found Stephanie sprawled over Ranger. She opened her eyes to see him watching her and caressing her very gently with his hand moving up and down her back.

She yawned in his face, then a pained expression crossed her face. Normally she would bolt to the bathroom, but her muscles were just not co-operating. Stephanie slid off Ranger carefully and grunting with the effort, tossed the covers away. She edged her way to the side of the bed and groaning stood up then moved as rapidly as her very, very sore muscles would allow, headed for the bathroom.

Ranger heard the toilet flush and the shower turn on. He grinned and vacated the bed. His shower was more than large enough for two.

He stepped in as she was standing under the hard jets of water, and reaching around her he picked up the loofah.

Stephanie started to moan and he stilled his movements. Was that pain, or something else?

She opened her eyes and taking the loofah from him, she poured the body wash on then proceeded to wash him, paying special attention to his muscular chest, then she put more on and washed lower and lower until she had to bend over to reach. She tried not to grimace but her muscles betrayed her.

Ranger gently took the loofah back from her and carefully he washed her from head to foot, taking care around any and all bruises and scrapes.

He helped to wash her hair as her arms were sore and then he turned off the shower.

Unfortunately they were both breathing heavily by then.

Ranger reached out and grabbing a towel he dried her with care, once again moving softly over and patting her sore areas.

Once they were both dry, he let her stay in the bathroom to work on her hair, and he headed to his closet to change.

By the time Stephanie had arrived in the kitchen, Ella had already come and gone and Ranger was reading the newspaper.

He pointed to an article and reading over his left shoulder, she gleaned that a number of gang and former gang members were facing charges for inciting a riot on Comstock Street.

There was no mention of any kind of a drug bust or anything to do with increased amounts of drugs arriving in Trenton. There was no mention of any kind of kidnapping.

Ranger had already finished his bagel as Stephanie dug into her bacon and eggs.

"Both you and Lula have an appointment with Bobby as soon as you are finished breakfast," said Ranger.

She nodded.

"Need I reiterate that you are not to leave the safety of Rangeman. Lula is under the same order from Tank.

Morelli has made an appointment to see Lula later this morning and our lawyer is standing by."

It was not stated out loud, but the threat of arrest hung in the air. They both knew that at some point Joe would be forced to bring her in.

Ranger stood up, walked around and gave a kiss to Stephanie in her hair, then walked out of the apartment. He had a meeting with Tank.

~~~o0o~~~

There was a meeting across town.

Looking in the room, the numbers of participants had dramatically decreased. Some were in jail awaiting a hearing on bail, and two had cashed in their chips and bailed.

June looked around.

Her two best co-conspirators were in the room.

They had taken off after the drugs had been delivered to the drop off point. They were waiting on the results of the transactions and the smell of money was making them very excited.

Jeremy, their chemist had cleared out after completing the latest shipment as he had threatened to do and had disappeared into the night. They had a contact who was keeping a loose surveillance on the family home just in case he materialized there. While he had completed his contract as he had stated, June was hesitant to just let him leave. He knew them all and all about their operation. They needed his silence, by whatever means possible.

She was furious when she had received word that Stephanie had escaped her trap and that the cop and the mule were also free.

Her eyes glared at them all and to a man, they all cringed.

"I want her back. I don't care how, or what shape she is in, but I will finish her off myself, since it appears that I cannot trust anyone else to do the job."

They nodded.

As soon as possible, they would set up another rotation keeping an eye on the building that she was once again hiding in.

June prepared to leave but she gave one more tidbit of information.

"Other than the few hiccups, the drops performed flawlessly and the money is collected. The clients are happy with the quality and they are already lining up for another shipment.

I will let you know when we get word. Until then, go about your jobs as usual, but keep your eyes open and your ears to the ground. I don't like to be surprised and someone will know if somethings going on.

I certainly don't need to remind you to watch your back. We brought in a lot of money last night and someone might think that their payout could come at our expense."

With that, she stepped out of the room, and listened as it slowly emptied.

Her two favorite lieutenants stayed back. They wanted to talk to her about something they had gleaned and didn't want anyone else to know just yet.

~~~o0o~~~

Joe waited at the front lobby. Cal had already phoned up to tell Tank that he was there to see Lula.

Tank came out of the elevator with Lula close by. She looked pale but her posture was ramrod straight.

The only sign of outward nervousness was how hard she was holding onto Tank's hand.

Tank looked at Joe.

"Did you want to talk in a conference room?"

This would give lots of information right off the bat. If they were, chances were that Joe might not be escorting Lula back with him with the lawyer following. If he had a squad car outside, chances were that the duty officers would be coming in once Joe read her her rights.

Joe nodded his head and they headed for the elevator.

The three stepped out on five and Joe could see Stephanie working at a cubicle as he quickly glanced around. Tank was leading them to Conference Room A. As they were about to close the door, he pulled out his phone and spoke.

"Cut the feeds on Conference Room A until I advise you otherwise." Tank then snapped his phone shut and put it back in its holder on his hip.

Tank let Joe choose his seat then he and Lula took chairs directly across from him.

Joe pulled out a small tape recorder and a folder.

He spoke.

"This is being taped and for the record. My name is Detective Joseph Morelli of the Trenton Police Department and I am speaking to Tallulah Jackson with...,"

He paused looking at Tank as if he thought about asking him for his first name, but reconsidered it. He spoke again.

"Tank Sherman in the room."

"Lula, In your own words, please tell me how you came into contact and became what is commonly known as a drug mule in Trenton."

Lula looked at Tank. He looked at Joe and spoke.

"I have a lawyer standing by and I would feel better if he was in the room with us."

He opened his phone again and pressed a button.

"Jason, I think we will need your presence in the room after all. We are in Conference Room A."

Joe nodded. He had been prepared in case this happened. As soon as he had brought out the tape recorder he knew that they would lawyer up.

There was a knock on the door and Jason walked in. He was carrying his briefcase in one hand. He moved along the row until he sat on the opposite side of Lula, then put his briefcase on the table and opened it, taking out a pad of paper and a pen.

He looked at Joe and nodded.

"Jason Jamieson".

Joe looked at Lula.

"Lula, as you know we are in the middle of an on-going investigation. We have already discussed at the cafe how serious this matter is and the fact that if you were to be in contact about another delivery, you were to phone me immediately."

He looked at Jason and he nodded to continue.

"Unfortunately we were both compromised when we were overpowered by the Dunkin Donut shop last evening, so my position has been moved back into administration and I am afraid that you may have been tagged."

He looked down at his notes.

"I am here to gather more information on who you delivered to, and from where. Also, I want to know the reasons that your supplier gave you. I will not lie that you could be facing a serious charge in the future, but the fact that you contacted me of your own free will, may help your case at a later date."

Joe looked at the lawyer.

Jason leaned over to Lula and whispered in her ear. She nodded and whispered back. Their muted conversation went on for a number of exchanges until they both nodded their heads in agreement.

Lula took Tank's hand in hers and squeezed it for courage.

"I was contacted by a casual friend asking for my help. He said that his delivery boy was sick and he needed a delivery of car parts to an autobody shop. He stated that the regular couriers in town were booked and could not guarantee delivery that day.

I had finished work and agreed. He had always given me good advice on where there was a good but fair mechanic in town to take my beloved Firebird so I didn't think anything of giving him a hand.

I picked up the package from his parts guy and took it there. There was no form on the package for them to sign and give back to me, so I left.

About a week later, the same thing happened. His delivery guy was still sick so I once again picked up a package and took it to another autobody shop.

This happened four times. By now I was getting suspicious because Donny paid me in cash, always thanking me and always having an excuse why he needed me to deliver it so quickly."

She stopped and sighed.

"I came to Rangeman and had lunch with Stephanie and I mentioned my fear that I thought that I had been roped into being a drug mule without my knowledge. Stephanie told me to phone Joe Morelli or she would.

I phoned you and made an appointment to see you at a little diner out of town, called 'Good Eats' and I confessed my fears."

Joe put up his hand at that point and Lula stopped.

He spoke into the recorder.

"My name is Detective Joseph Morelli. Lula Jackson called me and requested we meet. She stated that she thought she might have inadvertently broken the law.

We met at the stated restaurant and I reiterated that what she suspected she had done was to break the law and that the sentence for possession for the purpose of trafficking was severe and I was unable in any way to deflect the charge at a later date. She agreed to contact me with the details if and when she received another call asking for her assistance and she did call me twice."

Joe looked at Jason as he spoke.

"We are confident that we are closing in on the kingpins of this operation. We have some idea of a number of the operatives, but we are not completely sure of some others."

He looked at Lula.

"Would you be willing to get in touch with your contact and make some excuse that you need money and are willing to take on another run."

Jason put down his pen. He put his arm on Lula's arm and spoke.

"Lula, you have been very co-operative but this is going way over assisting the police. You may have been, and I strongly suggest that you have been compromised. What they are asking you to do could turn out to be very dangerous for you."

Jason and Tank looked over Lula's bent head at each other and each shook their heads no. They both believed that Lula was being taken advantage of with the threat of jail in her future.

Lula looked up at Joe and spoke.

"I want a deal before I even consider helping you. I already put myself and others in danger but this time if I help you, I want something in return."

Joe cleared his throat. He was used to negotiating but Lula had grown a backbone right in front of him. She had jumped in even before Jason had suggested it. He was empowered to agree to some conditions but he had an upper limit where he would have to take it upstairs.

He proceeded carefully.

"What are you proposing, Lula?"

She looked at Jason for some advice. They leaned over and whispered in each others ears. Tank sat impatiently waiting to hear what she was proposing.

They finally nodded and she looked up.

"I will help you in exchange for agreeing to simple Possession, one month served on weekends only."

Joe almost dropped his pen in surprise.

He couldn't stop his exclamation.

"Gesuz, Lula, normal sentence for this is usually 3 years and a $10,000 to $25,000 fine."

He watched as Lula sat back and crossed her arms in front of her.

Jason put down his pen. Tank noticed that once again he had rid himself of his latest habit of chewing on the ends of pens when he worked.

Jason spoke.

"Officer Morelli, may I remind you that at this time, neither you, nor the Task Force you are representing have any evidence linking Ms. Jackson to possession of an illegal substance or trafficking thereof? Ms. Jackson voluntarily came to you when she believed that she may have inadvertently been complicit in the transportation of illegal substances, but that belief has not been confirmed and she has no history of drug related charges. Our Legal and Justice System work on the basis of facts and evidence; neither of which you have. I may believe that I drove 5 mph over the speed limit on my way here; but me saying that to you does not mean you can write me a ticket for it. I suggest you consider your position."

Joe looked at Jason, then over at Tank.

Both had their blank faces on. It was her life and they would support her all they could, but it appeared that she was taking things head on.

Joe thought. He was allowed some leeway, but this was way too much.

He made a notation on his paperwork and looked over at Lula.

"I can go as low as one year incarceration, two years probation and $5000."

He sat back and watched as Lula leaned back over to speak to Jason.

Once again they whispered back and forth, with Lula shaking her head a number of times. Finally, Jason must have said something because Lula grudgingly nodded.

She looked over at Tank and smiling shakily, took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

She looked up at Joe and spoke.

"I am willing to agree to three months then a full pardon, but that is my final offer. You need my help, Officer Morelli."

Joe considered carefully. He had to weigh the fact that she could withdraw all help and then probably they would drag it through the courts long enough that she might even walk because of being drawn in. Now, if he took it for final approval, they could have her help take down the whole operation and end it sooner and hopefully save some lives.

He looked at Lula.

"I have to get approval from higher up. If you will excuse me for a few minutes."

He looked at Tank.

Tank stood up and led him to the door. They walked out and headed for the men's bathroom. They walked in and Tank made sure it was empty before walking out and stood by the door, ensuring that Joe had the privacy he needed.

Joe was in the room for what felt like a long time when he opened the door, nodded at Tank and walked past him.

Tank followed him back to the room. They both had their blank faces firmly etched on their faces as they walked to their seats.

Joe sat down in his chair. He looked at Lula, then Jason, then Tank.

"I have been authorized to offer you the following: no jail, five years probation, curfew at 11pm and no cellphone. We also reserve the right to wire you for any conversations or meetings and the ability to access your phone records until this comes to an end."

Lula looked at Jason. She looked at Tank and his eyes said that he was behind her and supporting her in whatever she chose.

She looked at Morelli. She thought about the different scenarios. Three months closed custody but then she would be done and out, no probation, no tracking, and a full pardon.

Or.

No jail time, but five years probation and she would not be able to leave town without getting permission. No cell phone? She didn't want to think about not having a cell phone. And the hardest of it all? A curfew at 11 p.m. Lula was a night-owl. She started to really get her game on after 11 p.m.

She shook her head.

"I'm not putting my life on hold for five years. Three months and full pardon or I am through helping you. I will agree to the wire though."

Joe sighed then nodded. The Task Force needed her more than ever right now.

Lula stood up and walked to Joe. They shook on the agreement.

"OK, Officer Hottie, how do you want to handle this?"

**A/N – chapters all weekend and in the interest of fan fiction rating, I am pushing this up to M tomorrow.**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Stephanie sat at her cubicle. She could feel that there was something missing. Her spidey sense was pinging but she could not put her finger on it.

Tank had come back and had walked into Ranger's office, closing the door behind him.

Joe had already left, and Jason had taken Lula and headed for the elevator.

Ranger had kept the file so she was unable to peruse it further. She had tried to access more information on the computer searches but nothing new had bounced back. She had read the Trenton Times article, and just for good measure had brought up the Tampa Bay Times.

It looked like everything had gone cold.

Stephanie needed to move to diffuse some of her nervous energy. She tried the break room, but nothing interested her. She thought of going to the gym, but that thought made her clench her teeth in dismay. The shooting range was temporarily out of order for routine maintenance, not that she was really thinking of resorting to that either.

She was banned from leaving the building and truth be told, she had no interest in leaving the safety of Rangeman anyway.

Lunch time had come and gone and while she had enjoyed chatting with the guys in the break room, they had all gone back to their duties. It was too early for the afternoon shift to wander in.

She thought a nice bubble bath might help her to think, and if it didn't, well, she would have a nice bath, so she closed down her computer and headed for the elevator.

Pressing the up button, then walking into the elevator, she pressed her own key fob, rising quickly to seven. Aiming the fob at the door, she unlocked it and pressed the handle to walk in.

Stephanie walked through to the kitchen to say hi to Rex. He was crouched down preparing to enjoy a juicy raspberry that Ella had left in his bowl.

She continued to the bedroom, looking for something to wear after her bath. It was late afternoon and her shift was officially over. She grabbed a t-shirt of Ranger's and a pair of shorts from her boxes and walking to the bathroom, closed the door behind her.

She put the plug in the tub, and poured in some bath bubble lotion then turned on the taps. As the tub filled, she dropped her uniform in the laundry basket and prepared to climb in the tub.

The water reached an acceptable level and she stepped in and sank down in the middle of the mountain of bubbles. She stretched as far as she could, and turned off the faucets with her big toes.

Her hair was swept up at the top of her head to keep it dry and she sank back leaning against the back wall of the tub. Her head rested against a rolled up towel. The jets had turned the bath lotion into a mountain of bubbles and she could feel herself relax. Unfortunately, there was something missing, or in this case, someone.

Stephanie lay back with a sigh.

Ranger had a mountain of work on his desk and he was always busy. Owning a business was hard work. The hours were long and long after employees had called it a day, he was still in his office, finishing and checking, or planning.

Stephanie closed her eyes, and her muscles began to relax in the warmth. She lay back, unconsciously starting to hum.

She thought of her little apartment across town. Stephanie had made the decision that she would arrange for her possessions to be moved out and give it up. She felt a bit sad at the idea of leaving. While there had been some pretty awful things happen while she lived there, she also reveled in the unique characters she had come to know who lived in the various suites and the independence it had given her. She would miss the drama and the inconvenience, but the future was waiting.

She didn't know what her future had in store for her, but she hoped that she would bounce.

Thinking of bouncing, she thought of Lula. She had few heroes in her life, but Lula was close. Her life could have turned out so very different if she had allowed herself to sink to the despair of her family.

Thinking of Lula with the current situation hanging over her head, she sighed.

Lula had exited the conference room with Jason and had immediately left the floor. Stephanie knew it was serious if she and Jason were still together.

Tank had come out of the room looking like someone had hurt his best friend and had taken refuge in Ranger's office.

Joe had been escorted down the elevator by Zero and he too looked solemn.

Stephanie had a feeling that it was going to get a lot worse before it got better. She hoped that everyone would come out of this relatively unscathed.

She leaned over the side of the tub and picked up her phone.

Lula's phone rang and went immediately to voice mail and she left a message.

"Hey girlfriend, just letting you know I am thinking of you. Call me when you can."

Stephanie looked through her contacts and dialed Dillon. He would probably be down in his dungeon of an apartment watching tv with a beer in his hand and a tv dinner on the tray in front of him by now.

Many times they had shared that couch, watching the Rangers play over the years. They were both ardent fans, and while unable to afford even one trip to see them play in person, they were loyal fans as far as their expenses could manage.

Dillon answered after two rings. Stephanie could hear the tv on in the background. It sounded like he was watching a game.

Stephanie spoke.

"Hi Dillon, this is Stephanie."

Dillon had already pressed the mute button and the background noise quieted.

She spoke again.

"I have decided to let my apartment go at the end of the lease. I spoke to the owners and they told me of their plans for the building. I just cannot help but think that by leaving, I can help my neighbors. Their rent would go down considerably and while I will miss them dearly, I want to make it easier for them."

Dillon mumbled.

"I know, and I will miss you too. I will try to get over there soon to finish cleaning it out. If you need me to sign something, can you just put it on my dining room table?"

Dillon mumbled again.

I don't know what I want to do with the furniture. If I decide to get rid of it, I will let you know and you can choose what you want to take."

Dillon made a sound in his throat.

"I know and we should get together for one last game. My treat this time, Dillon."

Dillon grunted a reply.

Stephanie hung up with a good-bye.

~~~o0o~~~

Jane looked at her two lieutenants. They had stuck with her through good times and bad. They had celebrated their first big payday, and lamented at the loss of both money and foiled plans.

Mike spoke.

"I've been checking around. She is pretty cozy with the owner of Rangeman and he is one scary dude. That's where they have her and I hear she isn't allowed to go out anywhere.

Tony watched them take a bunch more boxes and some furniture from her apartment. He talked to the super there and they don't have any vacancy since they are waiting for approval to re-designate it as a seniors complex and he said any opening would be seniors only. Tony talked to some old lady playing in the elevator and she thinks that Ms. Plum is being encouraged to move out by the owner."

June looked thoughtful. This could happen sooner or later depending on when Stephanie Plum moved out. She figured that anybody could move furniture, but what woman would allow someone else to pack up her lingerie.

It was time to vacate Trenton but she didn't want to leave without cleaning up the last detail. The need to exact revenge had been eating at her since the day Norman had died. She needed and wanted to be the one to finish the job.

She had allowed the former gang members first crack at this Stephanie person, but it was time to get personal.

"We have one more delivery coming in. I have our old chemist arriving tonight from Tampa and he'll look after it for us.

Until then, we can concentrate on how to get her out. Find family, friends, co-workers or anyone we can get to entice her out of that damn building. Give me some ideas, and soon."

June was holding the bright green dread she had personally cut off Lula's head. She looked out the window and thought of her next move.

~~~o0o~~~

Joe stepped into the Task Force Conference Room. There were only a few chairs vacant but he noticed that one was open by Gabriel, He strode down and plopped into the padded seat. He was tired, and still achy from the beating.

Gabriel fist bumped him welcoming him back. He handed him some sheets of paper detailing who they were keeping tabs on, and drop spots already identified.

Through informants and word on the street there were titles ranging from chemist, to distributor, to drug mule, to money launderer, to pawn agent.

Names had been slotted in as they had been identified and confirmed.

Joe noticed that Lula's name had now been added under drug mule along with others. He looked down the list at the names. Some were from the Burg and he recognized both the names and the businesses where they worked. It seemed like all walks of life had been tapped. He found a junior Pastor from the local Episcopalian Church listed under money laundering.

Joe lifted his eyes to the new speaker.

"All indications are that another shipment will be arriving soon, very soon. Need I remind you to be on your toes and extremely vigilant. These people play for keeps.

We have now tied in the events from Tampa to here, and they are still sorting though all the missing persons and the unidentified bodies from their last drug bust.

Person of interest to watch for is June Driedger or Jane Donovan. Two men wearing large Mohawk haircuts appear to be in her inner circle. One has a red tattoo on his right arm with the words 'Live or Die' in it.

We now have a brown Chevy Nova in the shop and our tech's are going over it with a fine tooth comb for evidence. One of the black and whites had noticed an abandoned and stripped car on Stark and had phoned it in. It had been reported stolen two weeks ago."

He looked around the room. Every man and woman sat attentively waiting for Inspector Mulligan to continue.

"I don't like drugs. They are damaging this wonderful country we live in. Let's dig down and get these assholes off the streets!"

There were yells of 'Hell, Yeah', and 'Goin Down Scumbags', and even a few 'HUA's'.

Chairs pushed back and there was a stampede to the door. The team could feel that they were close, and maybe it might be that one measly, minuscule detail would put it over the top.

They were jazzed up and ready to take this to a successful conclusion. Their families were waiting for them to come home. It was time to get back into the swing of home life; coaching Little League, driving to and from practices and games, birthdays and anniversaries, and seeing their spouses and significant others.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie came out of the bedroom dressed in some shorts and one of Ranger's t-shirts.

She had just spent the last half hour emptying the boxes into the different drawers and hangers that Ella had freed up for her. She squashed down the boxes flat and lay them back in the closet. Ella would know which recycling barrel to put them in.

She was unsure how long she would be there, but she was here until it was safe and then she would check out her options.

She headed for the kitchen for a snack and practically ran into Ranger coming out.

He was holding a tray with some cut up fruit and a small glass bowl of yogurt. Under his arm was a bottle of red wine and the glasses were balanced on the tray.

She looked at the delicious repast and then up at Ranger. She backed into the living room and cleared a spot on the coffee table for the tray.

Ranger put the tray down and set the bottle of wine on the tray.

He noticed that Stephanie had already taken a seat on the couch and curled her feet up under her. She looked relaxed after her bath and he cursed his timing on arriving too late to join her.

He sat down and proceeded to pour the wine into the glasses, handing her one. He picked up his and gently tapping his glass to hers, they both took a sip.

She dipped a spear of cantelope in the yogurt and lifted it to her lips. Ranger was watching as she opened her mouth and daintily took a bite.

His cargoes felt a bit tighter as he watched her lips close around that lucky piece of fruit.

He watched as she chewed appreciably.

Ranger reached over and picked up a large red strawberry and also dipped it in the yogurt. He held it between two fingers and put it close to his lips. He licked the yogurt from the strawberry never taking his eyes off Stephanie.

Her eyes changed and she shuddered, almost in spite of herself.

Ranger took a bite of the strawberry and a bit of juice dripped down the side of his mouth.

Stephanie reached over and lifted a forefinger, gently wiping the juice from his face and put it to her mouth, closing her lips over the finger.

Ranger squirmed.

Dios! He looked at the wine in the bottle. It seemed such a waste to leave it open on the table but he felt the need to let it breathe, as did he.

He noticed that she had locked her eyes on the bottle and that somehow both their glasses were empty. Reaching over, he poured the last of the contents into each glass.

Ranger picked up the glasses and handed one to Stephanie. Their eyes locked.

They put their glasses down and stood up.

Ranger stepped closer to her and put his hands on both sides of her ears gently massaging in her hair, gently moving his fingers back and forth on her scalp, gradually moving higher and higher.

He coaxed her closer to him with every stroke, inch by inch until they were touching chest to breast.

He looked down at her. Her eyes were closed but he could feel her desire as she shuddered against him. He could feel her breasts getting harder and straining against her lacy bra.

He bent down and kissed her on the lips so gently she almost didn't feel it, but he knew she knew he was there. He moved his hands back down and cupped each jaw gently in his hands he gave her another kiss. His tongue asked for entrance and she opened her mouth. Their tongues played with each other as if dancing to slow music.

Ranger reached down and cupping his hands, slid under those tiny and deliciously obscene shorts. She trembled in anticipation. His hands cupped her cheeks and he picked her up. Her legs instinctively wound around his waist, and her arms around his neck.

Ranger walked them to the bedroom and closing the door with one foot, he moved to the bed.

Holding her easily with one hand, his other hand reached up under her shirt and with one flick he unhooked her bra.

He put one knee on the bed, then the other. She slowly unlocked her legs and lay there waiting for his next move.

He looked down at her laying there.

Ranger slowly, ever so slowly worked the shirt up her body until it was holding her arms locked in position above her head. He watched as she licked her lips. He bent over and with his teeth, he lifted the bra off one breast then the other. He pushed the lacy bra higher with one hand and gently massaged her breast. He licked first one tiny, beautifully puckered breast, then the other. She squirmed expectantly. He let his tongue move down her chest, slowly, ever so slowly as she moaned and began to writhe.

Ranger reached down and then he slowly, ever so very slowly started to inch the shorts past her hips and down her thighs inching himself down the bed on his knees.

Her hands gripped the sheets on both sides of her. She arched her back and her hips rose in the air.

Ranger slid the shorts lower and lower finally bending one long sexy leg then the other until they were now in his hands. He tossed them to the floor. He looked at her emerald green thong with the shamrock sewn very strategically and slipping his thumb and forefinger under the elastic on each side, slowly pulled it down. St. Patrick's Day may have been two days ago, but she was his lucky shamrock tonight.

Stephanie was ready to fly over the edge but she tried to hold on another minute, another second. It had been so long since they had been together that she was having trouble keeping herself together.

Ranger reached behind his neck and pulled his skin tight t-shirt over his head then threw it somewhere near the shorts. He quickly unsnapped and unzipped his cargoes and kneeled there, his erection standing proudly and ready to announce his intentions.

Stephanie had worked her shirt and bra over her head and they too dropped to the floor. She tried to reach for him, but he tut-tutted her and she put her hands back down.

Ranger crawled up the bed toward Stephanie once again, literally walking out of his pants. She lay there eagerly waiting for his next move.

She looked at him almost begging him to take her now. He reached down and placed two fingers in the deliciously moist opening began to move them in and out drawing a moan and more writhing from his Babe.

Ranger withdrew his fingers and slid in encasing him in her juices. He began to move, matching her thrust with his. He stopped and she moaned in disappointment.

She whimpered, begging him and moaning his name. He withdrew only leaving his tip at her entrance. Stephanie was now beseeching him to take her. He pushed back in and with one final thrust he took them both over the edge.

They shuddered in each others arms and Ranger took care to keep most of his weight on his forearms as they lay muscles twitching with spent desire.

Ranger rolled over onto his back, bringing Stephanie to lay on top of his chest. She lay sprawled on his chest, her ear laying on one of his gorgeous pecs hearing and feeling his slow, steady, comforting heartbeat.

Ranger lifted a hand and moved a curl of hair from under his nose. He loved to smell her hair, and her body lotion. Hell, he loved to smell everything about her.

He watched as she gathered herself. An evil grin came over her face and her eyes twinkled. It was her turn and she had him squarely where she wanted him.

He looked at her checking for the handcuffs she had always threatened she wanted to try. Her hands had no cuffs in them but at the same time she was still moving, almost stealthily down, down his body. He groaned as she started to massage him.

He figured that he might be late for the early morning meeting tomorrow. Well, hell, Tank was a big boy and could cope.

His hands reached for her again...


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Joe was standing by as Lula made the phone call.

He watched her clench her fists in agitation and her face screw up in tension.

Donny answered the phone.

Lula spoke.

"Hey Donny, my man. I need to talk to you. I wanna get some fancy stuff for my beloved Firebird but I need some green and Vinnie hardly don't pay nothing, I'mma never going to have enough the way he squeezes that dough."

Donny listened as Lula spoke. She had only contacted him about repairs to her car, wanting some advice or the name of a good mechanic and until he had called her in desperation, they rarely spoke to each other.

He had a long line-up of customers waiting for service but tried to be polite. After all, she had helped him a few times when he was desperate and he felt a bit obligated to help her.

"Hey Lula, I might have something you can help me with and it might help with your parts problem. The weekend is coming up and my buddies who race are probably lining up their parts needs in a day or so. How about I earmark a parts delivery for you and let you know?"

Lula uncrossed her fingers. Donny didn't sound like it would be a problem from the tone of his voice.

"Thanks for helping me out. My baby is very special to me and I want her to look good."

She purred hoping that he would get the point.

Donnie shook his head. That damn Firebird was starting to show its age and if she wanted to put good money after bad, well he was not going to stand in her way. He thought she should have changed it out a year ago. Kids would be the only ones wanting it now and they had no money to spend, preferring to use their funds on video game consoles. His business was suffering because the younger generation were not interested in jacking up their trucks or fine tuning their cars. They thought of vehicles as basic transportation only.

Why, when he was growing up, he spent every dollar he had on making his vehicles special. He attended show and shines everywhere in the state on weekends, hanging out with fellow car junkies.

Now he was lucky if he could find one a month.

"Sure Lula, anything to help a friend. I might have something for you in a day or so."

Lula thanked him and hung up.

She looked at Joe and took a shuddering breath.

He nodded and walked out the door, his phone already in his hand.

~~~o0o~~~

June received the call she was waiting for.

Michael Morrison had finished breaking down the shipment and it was ready to be picked up. He had left it at the acreage and was already at the bus station. He thanked her for the direct transfer into his Cayman account and prepared to board the bus.

His phone was still in his hand, when suddenly he was surrounded and knocked down to the ground. His glasses went flying and he found his hands cuffed painfully behind him. He was pulled to his feet by a hand on each arm and another on the collar at the back of his neck.

He looked blearily at the men with the DEA vests surrounding him. One put his glasses back on his head so he could see them clearly.

One stepped into his line of sight and spoke.

"Michael Morrison, you are being placed under arrest for possession for the purpose of trafficking, handling of a narcotic for the purpose of distribution, fleeing across state lines for the purpose of escaping lawful custody, contributing to the addiction of minors, failure to appear at a scheduled court hearing, and last but not least, possession of child pornography. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Michael was dragged very unceremoniously away from the bus and deposited in the back of an unmarked van where he was shackled to the floor and fitted with a three point seat belt holding him secure on the metal bench.

Three men jumped in with him and sat on the other side of the van, watching Morrison as the van's engine started and they pulled out of the lot.

There were no windows to see where he was going or guess the direction.

He cursed June Driedger for pulling him to Trenton. New Jersey had one of the toughest laws on the books with respect to drugs. He figured he was in deep, deep shit.

~~~o0o~~~

It had been quiet out on the streets. Ranger was watching Stephanie working at her cubicle. She was processing a phenomenal amount of work while she was in the building. He had always thought that she was wasting her time chasing low level FTA's for Vinnie.

He had spoken to Tank about offering her a full-time job at Rangeman, but they both believed that she would take it the wrong way.

Her self confidence in her abilities was unusually low and all she really believed was that they would be offering her a pity appointment.

Besides, she would be required to meet standards and everybody knew of her aversion to anything that denoted the word, exercise.

They had tried to tailor a position for her but it would only involve inside work and she had stated on many, many occasions her dislike of sitting still for any length of time.

Ranger looked at his watch.

It was after 1pm and the heavy crowds would have left any restaurant.

He walked over to her cubicle and waited for her to acknowledge his presence.

Stephanie looked up. She had sensed his appearance but wanted to finish a certain search she was working on.

She took out the ear buds from her ears and put them on the desk.

"You want something, Ranger?" came the softly voiced question.

~~~o0o~~~

Joe was in one group as they started to round up the marks.

He personally wanted to be the one to put the cuffs on the Pastor. He was instrumental in starting up a Youth Group in the Burg, but there had begun to be disturbing rumors that they were not just studying the Scripture.

Joe and Gabriel pulled up in front of the Church. Joe looked at his watch. It was cutting it close before the kids started to show up.

Pastor Murray McClocklin was in one of the classrooms as Joe and Gabriel stopped in the doorway.

He looked up and gulped. He looked around as if thinking there might be an escape, but the tiny window was sealed for winter.

Joe walked up to Murray. He put a hand on Murray and spun him around making him lose his balance and lean against one of the desks. Joe took out his handcuffs and and snapped them on a wrist, pulling it back behind Murray then reaching for the other to lock together. Joe quickly patted him down checking for weapons then he pulled him up and looked him in the eye.

"Murray McClocklin, I am placing you under arrest for misappropriation of funds, laundering of illegal money gained through drugs, contributing to the delinquency of minors, and failure to report income. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand the charges?"

Murray nodded his head as he was led out of the room. He was led past the first group of youngsters who had arrived for the meeting, out the door and placed in the back of Joe's car. Gabriel was behind the wheel and they swiftly drove off.

Other groups were taking down people in and out of the Burg. Cars swooped down on auto body shops, flower shops, automobile dealers and even an elementary school.

The holding cells were starting to fill up and more were reported to be coming in.

It was a huge round-up, but so far the leaders had not been located.

~~~o0o~~~

June received a text and immediately headed for the front door of her house. She peeked out the window and noticed two cars parking in the driveway and another parking on the street.

She backed up and ran down the hall and into the kitchen. She opened the door and snuck outside, running past the garage and hopped the fence into the neighbors yard. She watched as a car came racing down the back alley and slid to a stop behind her house. She crept silently down to the back gate and let herself out, walking the opposite way to the street where a car sat. Keying the car open she slid in and drove away.

~~~o0o~~~

Lula received a call from Donny. He spoke.

"Lula, I need a fast delivery, and it's a big one. Can you come right away?"

He held his fingers crossed. He needed to get rid of the five bundles now. He hated to dump it on her but if he was caught he would go to jail for at least 20 years. She was just small potatoes after all and might be able to bargain her way down to a lower sentence, but he convinced himself that it was better her than him to take the rap. He felt no loyalty to keeping her name out of anything. If he went down, he was prepared to sing like a canary, and he would be giving names.

Lula could tell by the tone of his voice that something was going down.

"Sure Donny, but I am at Pino's. Could you deliver it to me and I will deliver it on?" Her fingers were crossed. The wire was turned on and was recording everything.

Donny thought for a minute. He would drop it off to her and keep on going. He had stashed some money away and the business was failing anyway. He was close to foreclosing and the bank had called him a couple of times demanding money.

"I'll be there in about ten minutes, Lula, and thanks."

Donny hung up. Lula pressed a button and Joe answered.

"Donny is meeting me at Pino's in ten minutes and he said he had a big delivery for me. How do you want to handle it?

Joe was in the car after delivering the good (for nothing) Pastor.

"Stay at Pino's. We will get you some back-up and hopefully we can shut him down now. No heroics Lula."

Lula nodded.

She looked at her meatball sub sadly, not sure how long it would be before she had another.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger helped Stephanie into the Turbo. She had finally agreed that she would leave the building.

The bribe of a meatball sub at Pino's had been too much and she had agreed to go.

The trip was made in silence. Stephanie looked around. Nothing seemed to have changed in the week since she had been out wandering around.

Ranger pulled up to the parking lot.

Stephanie had the funniest feeling come over her. Something was off.

Ranger walked around and opened the door. She already had her seatbelt off and climbed out.

They walked into the restaurant and noticed that Lula was sitting in a corner, looking almost nervous.

Stephanie walked to her friend and gave her a hug.

Lula looked both surprised and afraid.

She whispered in Stephanie's ear. "Drug drop, wired."

Stephanie stepped back. She looked at Ranger.

"We need to leave."

He nodded and turned around, just as his phone beeped with a voice mail.

Stephanie nodded to Lula and turned to go.

Unfortunately, Eddie saw her and waved hello. He walked to her side and gave her a hug. He was going to tell her that Shirley was expecting again.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank was following Ranger and Stephanie. He was in his Hummer with Ram and Woody. Another SUV was behind them.

Whether or not they had been scheduled, they were taking no chances until this Jane Driedger or June Donovan person was neutralized. Stephanie was in danger and if she was, so was Ranger.

They pulled up to Pino's and Ram was out the door with his sniper rifle in his hands. He had his vantage point already in his head and slunk away.

Woody and Tank parked in the lot and climbed out. They would stay in the lot and observe, letting Ranger and Stephanie have the privacy they needed for a nice meal. Tank sent the other SUV to wait in the back.

Tank received a call from Morelli.

"Talk"

Joe spoke. "I left a voice mail for Ranger, but June Driedger slipped our guys and is loose. She may be targeting Stephanie. At the same time, Lula is at Pino's waiting to receive a large shipment and we are on our way to secure her contact in the act."

Tank mopped his face with his hand. It appeared that things might be happening right at Pino's and all three of his friends were going to be in the middle of it.

"I am already at Pino's. Ranger took Stephanie out for lunch and we are providing cover, just in case."

Joe swore out loud. He could just feel a disaster in the making.

"I'm on my way. Get them out of the building and we will think of something else."

Joe hung up.

Tank motioned for Woody to come closer.

"Get inside and alert Ranger that something is about to blow here. Get Stephanie and Lula out and into a vehicle."

He had his phone in his hand.

"Ram, get ready. We have walked into a drug drop and are trying to extricate Ranger, Stephanie and Lula. Be vigilant and we'll get you picked up later." Tank slammed down the phone lid. He prepared to head for his Hummer when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a half ton truck drive into the lot and park.

Donny Anderson from Donny's AutoParts stepped out of his truck, holding a box in his hands. He looked around, waiting.

He had seen Lula's car in the parking lot and had driven very close to it, got out and walked over, checking to see if it was unlocked.

Tank held his breath.

Donny began to walk to the front door of Pino's when Ranger walked out the door, followed by Lula and Stephanie beside her. Woody was following behind looking around.

Donny waited for Lula to acknowledge him and he shifted the box preparing to hand it over.

Donny looked puzzled then his eyes narrowed. He turned around and attempted to walk back to his truck.

Tank ran forward and knocked him to the ground, making Donny drop the box. The flaps opened up and packages of white powder settled on the ground. Tank put his knee on Donny's back and prepared to put the cuffs on him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a car drive by.

He saw a woman look towards them, then slow down.

Everything became sloooowwwww motion.

He saw a pistol aim out the open window and heard a shot fire. Simultaneously there was another shot heard and the car windshield shattered. The car veered to the right and drove into a parked car. The horn started to blare.

Tank looked where she was aiming.

Stephanie had elbowed Lula out of the way then pushed Ranger off balance.

He was running to them as he saw Stephanie stumble at the same time as Ranger grabbed her and they both fell to the ground.

He remembered yelling, 'NOOOOOOOOOOO!'

**A/N – okay, is this a good time to say tissue warning tomorrow?**

**Myrna**


	24. Chapter 24

**Umm, tissue warning? **

**Janet Evanovich owns these characters and I must apologize to her some day for putting them in harms way.**

Chapter 24

Stephanie sagged and the look of shock appeared on her face.

Ranger dived to the ground holding and protecting Stephanie under him. He rolled off her and waited for her to move or shift, or do anything, but she just stay still, so very very still.

Tank could see the woman he loved moving but the woman Ranger loved, not.

He rushed to their side and gently rolled Stephanie onto her back.

Her chest was covered in blood. Tank grabbed her wrist searching for a pulse but it was very thready.

Ranger scrambled to his knees and took her hand in his.

He could hear vehicles screech to a stop behind him but he trusted his men to ensure they were safe.

He looked at his Babe and his heart broke.

She had taken the bullet possibly meant for him.

He wanted to gently shake her awake but her eyes remained closed.

Two EMT's raced to their side and tried to push Ranger away, but he continued to hold onto her hand.

Tank tried to move him away so they could get closer but he continued to stay by her side.

The EMT's ripped her shirt open and slapped large gauze pads on her chest. One held a stethoscope to her chest and listened. He then started to place the little electrodes on parts of her chest, flipping on the switch. The screen was not encouraging.

The other opened up a case and pulled out two paddles, laying them on top. He looked at his partner for some indication that they might be needed.

They started an IV in her arm. The line on the monitor shrunk a bit lower.

They had the oxygen mask ready to place it over her face. The line inched lower still.

Tank forced Ranger to let go of Stephanie's hand. He put his arms around Ranger and tried to drag him away, but Ranger began to fight his friend.

He roared. "STEPHANIE, STAY WITH ME. PLEASE BABE, STAY WITH ME. YOU CAN'T DIE. I LOVE YOU!"

The EMT's looked at each other. They both heard the ominous beeeeeeep.

The one holding the paddles reached out and his partner squirted some gel on each one. He placed them in the proper position and yelled, "Clear".

He pressed the button and Stephanie's body lifted off the ground from the charge.

They looked at the screen. The beeping continued.

Once again he placed the paddles and yelled "Clear".

Tank had gestured that he needed help and a sea of Rangemen raced over to assist.

Ranger fought everyone trying to stay near his Babe as they dragged him away.

He screamed, "STEPHANIE!"

Nobody heard the repeated shouts of 'Clear'.

Ranger almost got free when Tank finally was able to get his massive arms around Ranger and hug him to his chest. He had tears running down his face as he strained to hold him back.

Bobby was standing by with a syringe in his hand.

He spotted an opening and raced in, then backed off.

Ranger began to slow down. Tank held onto him as he began to sag against his friend.

The movements gradually ceased and Tank sat on the ground cradling his very best friend in his arms.

Rangemen stood in a circle looking outward protecting the two men and keeping the curious from watching.

Binky was standing guard over Donny until Morelli and Gabriel arrived. Striding swiftly he then headed to see if the EMT's needed any assistance.

Pino's had emptied out and a crowd had gathered watching the drama in front of them. Some could be heard praying and some were just hugging, trying to comfort. Policemen in having lunch helped to control the crowd.

An eerie silence had descended on the area. Here, in front of them was a life and death struggle going on. Here was a person from the Burg fighting for their life.

There were some clicks of camera phones and the odd person on a cell but mostly silence permeated the area as they watched, their hearts in their throats.

Bobby stood back, taking in the entire scene. Their very worst nightmare had happened.

He could feel the emotional life drain from the men of Rangeman.

He looked at the men working over Stephanie. His heart clenched in fear. They had stopped using the paddles. They now lay abandoned on the ground.

Bobby moved back to where the EMT's were still crouched near Stephanie. There was a stretcher standing by ready to transport.

He willed himself to check the monitor, forcing himself to be strong. He desperately did not want to see that flat line. Flat line meant that their babe, their little girl, their beautiful, their chica, their angel, was gone.

He looked at the screen. She was alive. The line was by no means strong, but it looked for the moment hopeful. The men were still working over her, laying more gauze pads over her chest, lifting an eye lid and checking with a flashlight. They had gently placed an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose and tightened the straps. The blood pressure cuff was now on her left arm and her right index finger sported the finger clip showing pulse. She had two IV's running and Binky now held the bags in the air.

One stood up, and rolled the bed closer.

The other man quickly packaged up the different cases and put them to one side.

One stood at her head and one stood by her feet and on the count of three they lifted her slightly and put her on the lowered stretcher, strapping her down.

The oxygen mask was re-adjusted and they each picked up a case and pushed her to the back of the ambulance. Garbage lay abandoned on the sidewalk, with everything from bloody gauze and empty wrappers to the tops of syringes.

Lifting carefully, they shoved her into the back and locked down the stretcher.

One ran around to the driver's door and hopped in. The other jumped in with Stephanie. Their faces were grim. They had done all they could and it was up to them to get her to the trauma centre as fast as they could. They hoped they had done enough.

Bobby did not hesitate and hopped in the back with them.

A policeman slammed the doors shut and hit the back door twice with his palm. The ambulance raced off, lights and flashers working. Two Rangeman vehicles chased after it, providing an escort.

The driver was on his hands free phone giving the details so that the trauma team would know up they were up against. He could hear Bobby and his partner performing chest compressions in the back as he flew down the street. She had coded again.

Tank continued to hold his friend in his arms. He had no idea if Stephanie was alive or dead. He had no idea how to comfort his friend if worse came to worse and she did not survive. He did not know how to explain to his friend why the woman he loved had pushed him out of the way and took the bullet. He just didn't know. He looked down at Ranger laying in his arms. Tank swiped the tears off his cheek, then wrapped an arm around Ranger again.

His muscles hurt from the strain, but he sat quietly holding and rocking his friend to him. He had no idea why he was doing it, but he just felt the need.

Rangemen stood guard making sure that they were safe.

Tears had fallen unabashed down their cheeks.

At last count, their angel was still alive, and they prayed that God did not have need of her for some time yet. They wanted to believe that her services were needed more on earth than in heaven and they hoped he would understand.

~~~o0o~~~

Joe was standing by Lula and Donny. Donny was being Miranda'd by Gabriel. Lula was sitting on the ground and tears were falling down her cheeks.

Stephanie had pushed her out of the way of incoming danger.

She looked up at Joe. His face was scrunched up trying to hold back his own tears.

He looked down at Lula. She stood up and gave him a hug and he returned it.

As the embrace ended, she noticed the handcuffs in his hand. She nodded sadly and turned around, putting her hands behind her.

Joe thought about it then shook his head at her and put them away. He took her by the arm and they ran for his car. They were going to the hospital to stand vigil for their friend.

The trip was made in silence. The siren wailed its mournful tone, signaling trouble.

Joe passed a box of tissues to Lula so she could mop her face from her tears. He wanted to sit down and cry too, but he had to stay strong, even just for Lula. He could tell that she was starting to blame herself for what happened.

He lifted one hand off the wheel and placed it on her arm, forcing her to look at him.

"Lula, you cannot blame yourself. Stephanie obviously felt or saw something and reacted. That's what friends do, Lula, that's what friends do."

They pulled up to the parking lot already finding the lot practically filled with black SUV's and one Buick.

They walked inside and headed for the waiting room. It was almost filled to capacity and yet it was so quiet, anyone whispering could be heard throughout the room.

Lula sat down in one of the chairs in the room. She wrapped her arms around herself feeling very cold.

Coffee materialized but it sat neglected. Magazines lay on the tables unread.

Ranger walked unsteadily into the room and a path cleared to let him sit down. He put his head in his hands with elbows on his knees. Tank stayed by his side and Bobby was nowhere to be seen.

Les was sitting with his leg raised against the crutches.

Frank, Helen and Edna sat in a corner. Helen was wringing her hands and everyone could almost read her lips saying 'why me, why us, why now?'

Edna had her rosary beads entwined in her hands. The chapel was too far away in case there was news. A tear was making its way down her cheek. Her baby granddaughter had once again encountered danger.

Frank sat between them. He had his own version of blank face on. He had received the phone call and quickly ushering the women out the door had driven to the hospital, breaking more rules than he cared to imagine. A police car had slid in front of him and helped to clear the path, stopping at the hospital entrance, letting him pass.

He looked around at everyone in the room. These were all her friends, friends who cared very deeply for her.

Frank stood up and walked out the door to the hallway. He opened up his phone to call Val. She would be at home with Lisa and he would tell her to stay there. Mary Alice and Angie would be home soon and he would call with more information as it came in.

He just did not need the extra drama right now.

Tank looked over at Lula and at Joe sitting nearby.

His eyes asked permission to talk to Lula and Joe nodded slightly.

Joe was sure that until word came down on the status of Stephanie that nobody would be stepping foot outside the door. There was some doubt that she would even be alive long enough to make it to the surgery suite.

He too added a prayer for the safekeeping of one Stephanie Plum.

He received a phone call and stepped out of the room to answer it. Nodding his head he hung up then looked back in the room catching Tank's eye.

Tank stood up and they walked down the hall then stood talking away from the men.

"June Driedger was shot by your sniper and he is now being escorted to the station. I don't think he will be charged, but just in case you better get hold of your lawyer."

Tank nodded then pulled out his phone, pressing a button.

"Jason, you better get down to the police station. Ram needs your help. He was forced to take out a target trying to protect Ranger and Stephanie."

There was a sharp intake of breath.

"Ranger is fine, but Stephanie is in the hospital."

Joe could hear Jason ask a question.

"No, we are not sure of the outcome at this time."

Even Joe could hear the expletive.

"Yes, I will get back to you."

Tank hung up and slid the phone back into place. He had checked that it was on vibrate only.

He looked at Joe. He was waiting to get more details.

"We have rounded up almost everyone, but her two main lieutenants are still evading us. Just in case, you might want to be prepared."

Tank nodded and headed back into the room. He understood the innuendo. If Stephanie survived, she would need to be heavily protected.

He sat down by Lula and lifted his hand laying it over hers in her lap and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was to show courage, support and most of all, love. He planned to stand by her whatever would transpire.

She was still shivering and Tank took off his Rangeman jacket and put it around her shoulders. Lula snuggled into the warmth and pulled it around herself. She could smell his cologne and despite the tension in the room, she began to relax.

Every time a hospital employee walked past the doorway, everyone looked up, then as the footsteps grew fainter, they looked down again. A few would look at a watch or check a phone.

A few of the men were forced to leave to cover a shift and the people they were replacing would take their place.

A few got up and began to pace, but sat down again as every eye focused on them begging them to cease and desist immediately.

Ranger sat with his head in his hands. He had not looked up after he was guided to a chair. The sedative that Bobby had injected was fast acting and fairly strong and he was continuing to feel the effects. He had refused to lie down and waited like everyone else.

Footsteps were heard coming down the hall. They sounded slow, like someone nearing exhaustion. The men looked at each other and almost as one, stood up.

A man, still in scrubs walked into the room. He looked around at the sea of faces staring intently at him. Bobby was standing behind him. He too looked exhausted.

"Is Stephanie Plum's family in this room?" he asked.

Frank stepped forward and nodded.

"Everyone in this room is a member of Stephanie Plum's family, Doctor."

Dr. Silverton cleared his throat.

"Ms. Plum suffered a gunshot wound to her chest, causing considerable damage. She was transported to our trauma room in medical distress but because of excellent care by the personnel on site and our very experienced trauma team she was stabilized sufficiently to take to the operating room. Details aside, she almost succumbed to her injuries a number of times."

He looked around. The women in the room were being supported by others beside them, almost standing with support only. Everyone was ashen faced and their postures were rigid with worry.

He continued.

"Ms. Plum came through the surgery and is now in Recovery Room while we assess her. Barring any complications she will be moved to the ICU shortly. I caution you that her condition is still very, very uncertain."

Tank let go Lula's hand and walked over to stand by Ranger. He looked at the doctor and opened his mouth to ask the question they all wanted to ask, but Ranger beat him to it.

"Doctor, in your medical opinion, what is her prognosis?"

Dr. Silverton looked around the room.

"In my honest opinion, we have done as much as we humanly can, and right now she is in the hands of the Almighty."

He turned on his heel and stepped out the door.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Tank set up extra guards on Stephanie's door and the unit. He was concerned that there were still some members of June's inner leadership loose.

He had spoken to Joe again.

The two lieutenants appeared to have gone to ground but an APB had been issued and all roads, airports, bus and train stations were being watched.

The holding cells at TPD were full. Tomorrow's bail hearings would be very busy and anyone who liked to sit through them would be treated to quite the parade of well-known residents.

Joe had looked at Lula as she sat in the waiting room chair. He knew she would never be a flight risk and he felt comfortable letting her stay until they had more news. Unfortunately, he would have to take her in before morning. He hoped they would have word soon.

He had phoned Mooch to head to his house and let Bob out and feed him. Joe was quite prepared to stay and wait with the rest of them. He hoped that he would be able to see Stephanie before he left with Lula.

A nurse stepped to the door. Once again, every one stood up waiting for whatever news she could release.

She looked around at the sea of faces and stopped in confusion, but then her composure returned and she looked around waiting for someone to step forward to talk to.

Ranger strode over to her and she tried to keep her professional demeanor in front of the Apollo god-like figure in front of her.

"Ms Plum is resting in her room and two visitors can see her for only five minutes each. I will NOT have a parade of people standing around the hallway outside her door. I understand about the guards, but you are either in her room or in this waiting room."

She turned on her heel and marched off, her back ramrod straight. She was in charge and she had a unit to run.

Frank took the lead and taking Helen's hand, they walked down the hall, There was no need to ask which room because Cal and Manny were standing by the door, imposing in their own right, but oh so serious with the job they had been tasked with.

Cal opened the door and they walked in.

Stephanie seemed so tiny laying in the huge bed. She had a monitor keeping her meds flowing, a heart monitor revealing her heart status, and a soft light bathing her. Her chest was heavily bandaged and it looked like a couple of chest tubes were sticking out. She had a breathing tube and combined with the sound of the beeping and hissing machines, it indeed sounded noisy compared to the silence in the waiting room.

Frank moved to one side of the bed and Helen stood on the other. They looked at each over Stephanie and shook their heads. She had had so very many scrapes during her short life and had come through them all, but this...

Frank bent down and kissed his daughter near her ear. There was really nowhere else he could get near. He whispered in her ear, gave her another gentle kiss and stood up.

Helen reached down and taking a curl that was laying on a pillow, she tucked it behind her ear, feeling the need to make her look more presentable for visitors. It was how she managed to show love and concern. She was mentally cataloging Stephanie's favorite foods, wondering if she would be making them for her or in memory of her.

Their time was up and they grudgingly walked out the room.

Edna stood up and walked over to Lula asking if she would accompany her next. Lula looked at Joe for permission and he nodded.

Taking each others arms for emotional support they headed down the hall and into the room.

Edna looked at her grand daughter. She looked so peaceful and her face was without expression, but Edna was looking deeper. She saw a woman who defied routine, and walking the easy road of life. She saw a woman who loved to live her life and wanted dessert with her breakfast. She saw a woman who was on good terms with denial land but when push came to shove, tried to do what she thought was right.

Edna leaned down close to Stephanie's ear and whispered to her, gave her a soft kiss then stood up.

Lula watched and tears were flowing down her cheeks. Her best friend had saved her life, again! She had no idea what the future was holding for her but when she got out, she hoped that they would be able to partner up again, even just for coffee.

It was Edna supporting Lula walking back to the waiting room.

Joe stood up. He headed down the hall alone. He walked into the room and could only stare. His Cupcake had almost died. He was having trouble coming to grips with the fact that she could find danger even when it was not her fault.

He took a cautious step toward the bed. He lifted his hand up but had no idea where to touch her. Everything seemed covered in bandages or tubes. He put his hand down again. He thought about giving her a kiss but the only place he could think of was her forehead and he was afraid to reach over just in case he disturbed something. Joe turned around and walked out the door.

He stepped back into the waiting room and looked at Lula. She nodded in resignation and squeezed Tank's hand before standing up. Joe escorted her out the door. He would need to handcuff her before they walked into the police station, but he would wait until they were in the parking lot. He knew that Stephanie would prefer it that way.

Tank watched their backs as they left. He felt torn wanting to follow her, but at the same time he had a job to do. He was in charge knowing that Ranger was letting him take lead for awhile. He was assuming leadership by necessity.

Ranger had patiently waited his turn but when Joe and Lula left, he was ready. He looked at Tank and they walked down the hallway. Manny opened the door but they stood in the doorway waiting, almost waiting for permission to enter.

Tank watched Ranger enter the room, almost hesitantly. Tank stepped in for just a moment. He wanted to see Rangeman's little angel. She lay so quietly. He shook his head sadly. He was trying to decide what he was willing to trade for her to jump out of bed and bounce her way out the door. He wanted to see her try to convince Ranger that she was fine and wanted to leave.

Instead he saw Little Girl laying in a bed, covered in tubes and bandages, a breathing tube down her throat.

He turned on his heel and left the room, closing the door very softly, almost as if he didn't want to disturb her.

Tank walked back to the waiting room, alone.

Ranger stood by the bed. He leaned forward and gently placed his lips near hers. He whispered in her ear, then kissed her again.

He pulled up a chair and sat down, taking her hand that was laying on top of the covers in his. He held it carefully not disturbing any of the various lines snaking to the machines beside the bed.

Ranger settled in for a long wait.

His mind drifted to mishaps and adventures that his Babe had contributed to or benefited from.

He remembered the look on her face as she watched Tank throw the drug dealer out the window on the fourth floor. He sighed as he remembered his specially ordered brand new Boxter that lasted only a day. He thought of the mishaps with her grandmother and her family. Ranger thought of how she had railed against the security measures in her apartment he had tried to implement to keep her safe.

He thought of her favorite go-to place, Point Pleasant. She was like a kid as she danced on the beach and ran up and down, kicking sand and water around, getting soaked and having fun.

He loved how her eyes twinkled with mischief or changed with desire.

He remembered last night.

He sat there as the medical staff came and went, checking and changing the bags hanging over her head. He watched as the surgeon came in and reviewed the file.

He spoke when spoken to, but never pestered them as they performed their jobs. He waited quietly and patiently, waiting, waiting, ever waiting for his Babe to open her eyes.

Tank had come in a few times to convince him to leave for a few minutes at a time. He promised Ranger that he would not leave her side while he took short breaks.

Rangeman ran as if on autopilot, everyone waiting for word.

Connie was waiting as Lula got her bail conditions, then they headed back to the hospital. Connie left Vinnie to run the office.

Visitors came and went.

Connie and Lula came in together but stayed only a few short minutes.

Joe came back to the hospital the next morning. He had been in a meeting wrapping up the investigation and he was tired having not slept all night. He walked in and saw Ranger sitting there with his hand holding Stephanie's.

He walked out knowing that he had probably lost his Cupcake. He just hoped that they all had not lost her.

She continued to remain in guarded condition.

A lung collapsed and it was re-inflated. The other lung also collapsed and it was also attended to. She had an infection and massive amounts of antibiotics were prescribed. Through it all she slept, never changing.

Ranger kept his vigil through it all. He would find that he had fallen asleep in the chair and awaken. He looked like shit and there had been a discussion that Bobby might be needed again. Ranger had watched as he walked in the room, the syringe in its protective case.

One look from Ranger and Bobby nodded. If something happened then and only then would he intercede.

The doctor met with Frank, Helen, Edna and Ranger.

He was clinical in his explanation. They were doing all they could but her signs were not encouraging. He tried to prepare them for the worst.

They thanked him and walked away. He did not know about her will to live and her vibrant love of life.

Until they saw otherwise, they were going with cautious optimism.

Ranger had fallen asleep with his head leaning on the edge of the bed. His eyes opened. He thought he had dreamt fingers were playing in his hair. He lay there and could feel it again.

Ranger turned his head slightly and saw her hand moving, almost stroking the tendril of hair under her hand. He had left his hair down knowing that that was how she liked it. When he fell asleep his hair must have fallen over her hand.

He looked up. Her eyes were attempting to open and she grimaced at the tube down her throat.

He sat up and put his hand on hers and squeezed lightly. She attempted to turn her hand over in his but her grasp was very, very weak as she tried to reciprocate.

Ranger whispered 'Babe'.

He stood up and pressed the button by her head and immediately the door opened and a swarm of medical personnel rushed in.

Stephanie almost jumped at the stampede, but Ranger squeezed her hand again in reassurance. He was there for her.

The medical team ordered him out the door and he left grudgingly. Vince and Binky were on guard and they looked at Ranger with concern.

"She woke up."

They smiled and there was at least one fist pump and two quiet 'yes's'. Vince pulled out his phone, sending the all-important message to Rangeman Trenton to be passed on company wide. Their angel had woken up.

**A/N – last chapter tomorrow.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Gee Janet, do I have to give them back AGAIN? Isn't there a program that if I borrow them x number of times, I get to keep one? **

Chapter 26

Stephanie was snapping back fast, maybe too fast.

She had been moved out of ICU and into a private room and she was starting to get a bit whiney.

The hospital staff had let her sit in a chair for twenty minutes, although she had been exhausted by the end. After a nap she had petitioned to be allowed out the door for a trip up and down the hall by wheelchair.

Ranger was trying to convince Stephanie that she had to stay in bed. He pulled out his handcuffs but she surprised him with a key in her hand. He threatened that the bed rails would be locked into place. She pulled a hidden phone from under her pillow and called her dad. He one upped her and called her mom to talk some sense into her. Stephanie began to cry and Ranger rushed over to give her a hug.

He promised that if she could stay there at least another day, he would ask Ella to send something special to eat when she was cleared for solid food.

She promised to think about it, but the twinkle in her eye made him question her motive. His eyes narrowed and he vowed to be more vigilant about watching for contraband.

Her chest tubes came out for the second time. She had enjoyed Jello for lunch, but deep down she hoped that some kind Rangeman would sneak a donut into her room when Ranger was not looking, which would be next to impossible as he barely left her room.

She beseeched Tank to convince Ranger that she could cope for a few hours and he could head back to Haywood to get some work done, or to sleep.

She asked Bobby to knock his ass out and they could then stick him in her bed to sleep.

Her parents came to visit and marvelled at how fast she was improving.

Grandma Edna had shown up alone and spent some time with her baby grand daughter.

Joe had dropped in earlier with news that the last few had been rounded up. The two inner circle of June's gang had been picked up sneaking out of town in a stolen mini-van with signs declaring they were from a children's camp. Unfortunately they had not taken into account that the children's camp was not open until summer and a passing patrolmen had noticed and called it in. He chuckled as he related that the van had a gigantic heart on it and the sign that stated it was from the Simple Hearts Summer Camp for Children. He thought it was quite ironic.

They had been surrounded by a SWAT team waiting for them when they came out from having lunch at a diner. Joe thought it was interesting that they had chosen the same diner where Lula had met him just a few days before.

He related that Lula had admitted her share of the blame for her part in the drug scene and the judge had imposed the agreed upon sentence. Joe was quick to mention that he had vouched for her integrity and that she had assisted with flushing out some of the suspects.

Vinnie had petitioned the court that he was holding a job for her upon her release and that she was a valued employee. Lula would never know that Connie had threatened him with her resignation and had placed the paperwork in front of him handing him a pen and pointing where to sign.

Adding insult to injury, Connie had advised Vinnie that she would call Lucille to do the filing while Lula was incarcerated if he balked.

Tank had stood by her both at the arraignment and the sentencing. Jason had represented her and had bargained the bond amount down to a manageable level. Over her protests, Tank had put up the bond money himself and she was able to get out to put her affairs in order.

Joe had sent a personal letter to the warden where she would be held and had requested that if possible she not work in the kitchen. That had been one of her worst fears.

Her mother had worked every sentence in the kitchen and placing her in the same position might make her feel that she was following the same footsteps she had vowed never to do.

He chuckled when he heard they earmarked her for office duties, specifically, filing, knowing that she was employed in that capacity with the bond office. He chose not to dwell on the fact that it might take some time to find the files after she was released. She had her own unique way of filing.

Les dropped in. He was off his crutches but walking with a decided limp.

He sat on the edge of her bed, with his leg resting on the chair by the bed.

He was careful not to mention how Rangeman had run while she had been unconscious. He didn't want her to worry that once again she had made Rangeman bleed money. Work efficiency had hit rock bottom as the men had waited for word. To outward appearances they were their usual efficient company self, but all life had been sucked out of them as they waited with baited breath for word.

The celebration could be heard practically country-wide when word came in that she had regained consciousness.

Les looked at the tiny wisp of a person in the bed. Admitting it or not, she was the heart and soul of Rangeman.

Instead, he mentioned that when she was better, he suspected that she would be inundated with flowers from all the other branches. Ranger had forbidden them to be delivered until she was more alert to enjoy them.

He looked at her and his smile faded.

He was fairly cognizant of her struggle to survive and how she had scared almost everyone who knew her.

He had seen enough combat injuries that involved chest injuries to suspect that she would not be chasing skips anytime soon or ever again. Bobby had given few details, citing patient-medical confidentiality but Les had read between the lines enough to know that one heart valve had been damaged and Stephanie might be on reduced duty for the rest of her life.

A heart transplant might be in her future with all its complications and medical needs. Bobby was already reading up, just in case.

He shrugged. She had bounced back before and would again. Just seeing her smile that radiant, happy-to-see-you smile was enough for now. He would take it one day at a time.

He regaled her with stories from Rangeman. Tank and Ranger had Luis take down the new cubicle and had it removed. There were so many wrapped gifts and personal messages on it that the area was over flowing. Everything had been packaged up and was waiting for when she came out of the hospital.

The men had taken it upon themselves and had now decorated her old cubicle with Welcome Home signs and more presents.

He heard that Ella was already stocking up and preparing her favorite foods and Ranger had found a fresh stash of TastyKakes in a cupboard in the break room. Ella already had Luis prepare the apartment on seven for an injured occupant.

They were all waiting for her to return.

Les had left after giving her a hug. He had whispered in her ear that he would have missed her. She nodded and gave him a hug back. She was realizing how serious it had been as she lay there fighting for her life oblivious to the world around her. She vowed to give everyone a special hug the next time she saw them.

Lula had visited her in her room. She had come in alone and they managed to spend a few minutes together. Ranger had left but stated that he was right outside the door making some phone calls.

Lula mentioned that she had given up her apartment. She and Tank would be discussing her living arrangements when she returned.

Lula figured that three months would not fly by, but she was prepared to bounce. With good behavior she might be out sooner.

Tank had promised to visit her as often as it was allowed and had already started the paperwork approving him for visitation rights.

Lula spoke. "I won't be able to see you for awhile, Steph. The guard received permission that we could make a quick detour. While I hate that I am going to jail, I'mma glad that I made the deal with Morelli before it all went down."

She huffed. "That scumbag, Donny tried to pin a bunch of shit on me and if I hadn't'a already confessed my part in it, I might'a been looking at the 20 years he is. He tried to tell them that I was the dealer and he was the mule!"

Lula looked at her friend.

From all indications Stephanie would be in the hospital for some time yet, although she was steadily and more aggressively petitioning the medical staff that if she could go home, Bobby was more than capable to look after her medical needs.

She had not divulged that Ranger could look after her other needs.

Lula and Stephanie had a final gentle hug and although there were tears, she left on good terms.

Joe was waiting outside along with a female corrections guard. He had petitioned that she be uncuffed and allowed to go in alone. She was on her way to the women's correctional centre in the next county.

Joe stepped in after Lula was led away and Ranger continued to wait outside the door. This was between them.

He looked at her. Stephanie's color was better and she looked more like the Cupcake he knew and loved. He gave her a gentle hug and sat down on the edge of the bed.

She smiled as he pulled out a Tasty Pastry bag from under his jacket and handed it to her. She quietly opened the bag and took out a Boston crème taking a small bite. A tiny moan erupted and she could hear Ranger growl and heard him say on the other side of the door, 'Babe!'.

She tried but after a few bites she admitted defeat and Joe finished it.

Joe took her hand in his and he looked at her. He knew that he had lost her to another but he was hoping to remain friends. They had so much history between them.

"Do you think that Ranger will allow us to have lunch together sometime, Cupcake?" came the tentative question.

Stephanie smiled. They were friends and always would be. Stephanie had her eye on one of the nurses looking after her. She was Italian, single and loved kids. She wanted to settle down and was coy about her cooking skills. Stephanie cursed her luck. Sophia had just gone off shift. She was pondering how to get them to meet.

Joe took the now empty bag and stuffed it in his pocket. He gently wiped a few sugar grains from the side of her mouth as he stood up and prepared to leave.

"Will I be invited to the wedding?"

Stephanie smiled.

She knew that she and Ranger needed to talk, and really talk. So much had not been said and they needed to spell out where they wanted to take this relationship.

She wanted to talk to Ranger about a dream she had had. She remembered standing and watching as they dragged him away from her when she had been shot. She had told her Grandma Edna about it and she had nodded knowingly. Edna had called it a Near Death Experience and promised to bring her a book she had read on the subject.

Her furniture was in storage in one of the Rangeman storage rooms. Time would tell if she would be needing or wanting it. Her independent streak still wanted a place of her own, but on the other hand, she felt that it might be time to act her age and decide what she really wanted in life.

Did she want to continue living like an undergrad taking handouts and living from paycheck to paycheck, bumming meals off her parents? A car that lasted more than a few days or weeks would be nice. Her wardrobe could use a bit of a make-over. Less t-shirts and scruffy jeans and more dress clothes.

Stephanie grimaced. Naahhh! Too much, too soon.

Right now, she was content to stay at Haywood. Ella was there. Her Merry Men were there, and especially Ranger was there.

They had not talked about marriage, but that was for the future, right? She wanted to believe that they might have a future, and it was going to be good.

**A/N – Well, another story ends. I really must thank Megan for her never-ending patience as I sent her chapter after chapter. Quite the rainbow of colors as you corrected, questioned, or made suggestions. **

**Thanks Cindy for your expertise with my medical inquiries. Left to my own devices I might have stuck something in sideways or something!**

**I mentioned to Margaret that I had worn the letters off my keyboard. She told me to suck it up and buy a new keyboard! Thanks, Margaret for being in my corner.**

**Thank you everybody for your reviews. Insightful, hilarious, thought-provoking and encouraging come to mind. **

**Was it not Martin Luther King Jr. who said, "I had a vision"? I wonder... Hmmm.**

**Myrna **


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